Greg's Corner

Shipping crisis could lead to holiday scams

By Greg Collier

Many factors have led to the current global shipping crisis. However, whether it’s more people ordering items online or the lack of truck drivers to deliver the goods, it can all be tracked back to the pandemic. An untold number of cargo ships are forced to wait days and sometimes weeks at sea before they can unload their cargo. This has resulted in product shortages for items that are manufactured overseas, especially items from Asia, where the bulk of electronics and toys are produced. As with any global crisis, scammers are more than happy to use the product shortages to their advantage.

The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers about seeking out highly demanded products this holiday season. Due to the shortages, many of the in-demand items consumers are hoping to get for the holidays will probably be even harder to find than in years past. It’s predicted that scammers will increase their activity this holiday season by setting up fake vendor websites that are selling the most sought out items. These websites are designed for one thing, and that’s to steal your information, both personal and financial. People who fall victim to these websites could end up being charged for a hard to find item only to never receive the product.

The BBB has some tips for avoiding these websites, such as avoiding ads for hard to find items on social media. When making purchases online, try to use a credit card as much as possible, since credit cards offer more fraud protection than debit cards and payment apps. And as always, beware of below-market prices because if the deal seems too good to be true it probably is. This holiday season, if you’re set on doing all your shopping online, your best bet is to stick with known retailers rather than taking a risk with a scammer.