AG offers holiday shopping tips for South Dakotans
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley is reminding consumers to watch out not only for the good bargains, but shopping scams as well.
“This is a busy time for shopping, and it is easy to forget to about consumer scams,” said Jackley. “But those who prey on stealing personal and financial information are still out there.”
Many people have already started the holiday shopping season and scam text messages have been reported from what appears to be legitimate businesses such as UPS, FedEx and USPS.
Common scam messages, which encourage the consumer to click on the link provided, are: “We were unable to deliver your package, please contact us to provide further delivery details;” “Did you attempt to make the following purchase?;” and, “We’ve detected potential unauthorized access to your account, contact us immediately.”
The Attorney General’s Office’s Consumer Protection Division warns consumers that such shopping scams can happen when either making in-store purchases or online.
“The precautions that we encourage you to use during the rest of the year also are important during the holiday season,” said Jackley. “Be careful how you shop and always protect your personal and financial information from theft.”
People who believe they have been a victim of a shopping scam or theft are encouraged to call local law enforcement or the Consumer Protection Division at or call 1-800-300-1986 or 605-773-4400.
Consumers can also sign up for Consumer Alerts via email from the Consumer Protection Division at consumer.sd.gov .
The Consumer Protection Division offers these tips on how to stay shopping safe:
In-store purchases
Along with those traditional shopping methods, consumers also need to proceed with caution when dealing with online retailers.
Online shopping:
Smartphone shopping
Scam message tips:
Comments You must be logged in to react.Click any reaction to login. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy .
