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In the past year, there was a 30 percent increase in e-commerce fraud attacks. With online shopping through Amazon and other websites – especially during COVID-19 – fraud is becoming a major industry. How at risk are you and what can you do to help prevent or minimize the impact of online fraud? A new study by Social Catfish has some answers and very useful tips.
In the study, Social Catfish breaks down the most common online shopping scams and tries to point out how consumers can keep themselves safe. They also offer a search tool for skeptical shoppers can enter email addresses, company names, telephone numbers and even images to find out any information connected to the actual owners and any information connected to that data. Unfortunately, that function is behind a paywall.
Social Catfish breaks down the states most statistically susceptible to online scammers. You might be interested to know that Wisconsin ranked number 47 on the list that includes Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, which means the Badger State has some pretty smart shoppers.
In another study conducted by Javelin Research, 16.7 million U.S. consumers were affected by online fraud in 2018. The amount lost totaled $1.48 billion, which means fraud is a pretty big business.
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While these scams happen to more people in their 20s, when they happen to older people, it’s usually for more money. The study found that the average loss for younger victims was around $400, while older people lost on average $751.
The Social Catfish study has a ton of tools for consumers to be more vigilant in their online shopping. From tips on how to identify bogus emails, fake websites, alternative payment scams and subscriptions scams, there’s something for everyone to learn. Some of the most common scams for Amazon Prime subscribers are highlighted, along with some of the more common Walmart scams, eBay, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Craigslist and email phishing scams as well. Take a look for yourself and send some of these tools on to your friends or family members that aren’t as familiar with the digital world.
