The holiday hustle and bustle are in full swing as shoppers search for this year’s best steals and deals. The good news, discounts are expected to hit record highs for popular categories such as electronics, computers, and toys according to Adobe’s online-shopping forecast.
However, scammers are looking to take advantage of American consumers as fears of a looming recession increase, and people tighten their purse strings leading up to the Holidays. These criminals are on the prowl both online and off looking to entice consumers with even lower-cost price tags attached to dangerous counterfeit products.
This is especially true online as sales are expected to grow by 2.5% throughout December. The rise of e-commerce has led to an increase in sales and purchases of duped products.
McGruff the Crime Dog®, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) are alerting people to these scams and educating them on how to spot the red flags this holiday season.
Check out what they have to say and for more information, visit ncpc.org and uspto.gov.
