Nessel launches website to warn against holiday scams

All day this “Cyber Monday,” companies will be promoting deals. While it’s exciting for shoppers, many people fall victims to online scams.

That’s why the Office of Attorney General is launching a new consumer protection website with its annual holiday campaign.

“The very best thing we can do is just to educate consumers,” Nessel said.

That’s what the department’s consumer protection team will do, through a new website, and also on social media for the next four weeks.

“We have an entire page that’s just dedicated to the latest scams, and that’s why we wanted to revamp it to make it as user-friendly as possible,” Nessel said. “And that includes educational videos. Because a lot of times, people don’t want to read pages and pages about scams.”

Nessel said people should be aware of AI (Artificial Intelligence) scams, especially this holiday season.

“What we’re seeing is, sometimes, we’ll have an individual that gets a phone call. And they think it’s from a family member, a friend, a loved one,” Nessel said. “And it’s really not. And they say they urgently need a person’s credit card, or personal information, or to be wired money.”

Nessel said people should also be aware of tactics used to trick shoppers into spending more, and she urges people to shop with reputable companies.

“That they’re not doing their online shopping through social media. And whatever link they’re clicking on is really going to the store where they think they’re making the purchase from,” Nessel said.

If you see something odd–“You can report that to us,” Nessel said. “We will investigate it. If the evidence is there, we’ll prosecute it. We’ll try to get your money back.”

The Consumer Protection Team will be posting tips on the Attorney General’s Instagram page. If you share at least five of these tips, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card.

If you come across a scam, you can fill out a form and mail it out.