By james art
Well, ghosts, witches and goblins had their day with Halloween decorations, tricks, Halloween parties and haunted houses. Now is the time to change and prepare for the two big upcoming holidays – Thanksgiving and Christmas. These two holidays are the biggest of the year, as well as the most popular in America.
Due to the large number of people who celebrate these holidays, our next safety series will focus on tips on how to stay safe while preparing for and enjoying these holidays. Let’s take a quick look at the upcoming safety topics you can expect to read about.
Our first topic in our series on smart holiday safety measures will focus on online shopping fraud in 2024. Tech thieves (online fraudsters) are always planning ways new technology can benefit them. Their pursuit of ways to steal your hard-earned dollars is cunning and endless.
US consumers lost an average of more than $1,500 to shopping fraud in 2022, according to an All About Cookies study. Online shopping scams are among the most risky scams in 2023, according to the Better Business Institute (BB)’s latest online fraud report. Not only are these scams common, but 82 percent of those targeted by online shopping scams report losing money. So in the latest safety series, we’re going to highlight some of the latest online safety pitfalls to avoid in 2024.
We’ll continue in the coming weeks in our Holiday Safety Smarts series on how you can safely decorate your home both inside and out. We’ll also explore how to safely order food for your holiday feasts online, which can be convenient and lifesaving during the holidays. Traditional holiday safety tips for gift and food shopping will also be included.
We won’t forget those of you traveling over the holidays. A safety article focusing on holiday travel safety will also be highlighted. 15 percent of consumers say they have experienced booking fraud. We’ll highlight holiday safety by addressing charitable giving along with gift card scams. One in four people have given or received a gift card without a balance.
As you can read, we have a lot of safety topics to cover, so let’s get started with our first online holiday safety smart tip.
Beware of online marketplaces: Be extra careful or just avoid shopping on sites like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, NextDoor, and other online marketplaces.
If you buy directly from an individual and pay cash, you won’t have the same purchase protection as you would if you were buying from a reputable retailer.
While the holidays can contain dangerous safety pitfalls, it’s also a time that brings joy, a break from work, and days spent with family. Our goal in our latest Safety Eye series is to help protect you so you can cherish your vacation experiences.