Greg's Corner

The Grinch-bots that are stealing Christmas

By now you should have all your Christmas shopping done since it’s only five days away. However there are many of us who’ve either been too busy or who have just procrastinated to the point of panic. Well, if you’re planning on getting that hard to get gift that children are clambering for this Christmas you’re probably out of luck.

Even in the days before the internet,when a must have toy hit the market, like Tickle-Me-Elmo or Cabbage Patch Kids, would hit the store shelves, certain entrepreneurial spirits would buy as many of the items as they could then resell them at an extreme markup. Today is no different as scalpers now use bots, or automated scripts, to try to snatch up as many of the season’s hottest items this year from online marketplaces, leaving you to scrape second-hand sites paying exponential prices as to not disappoint someone this Christmas.

To make matters worse if you are able to get your hands on one of the must have gifts this year and bought it second-hand, you may be introducing a security flaw into someone’s life. If the item you purchased requires internet connectivity, it may contain malware that can be used for several nefarious purposes.

If you find yourself in the lurch this holiday season, just go with gift cards. It may seem impersonal, but in the long run your loved ones can buy whatever they want with them and they can save you a lot of headaches in the process.