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SC Law Enforcement Cracking Down on Holiday Crime
With holiday spending comes the risk of consumers being targeted by more sophisticated scams, both in store and online.
December 10, 2010 /High Tech - Internet PR News/ -- With the holiday season upon us, retailers expect this season to be much busier than past years. According to the National Retail Federation, 212 million people shopped on Black Friday this year, compared with 195 million in 2009. A recent report by Reuters suggests that online shopping is expected to rise over 10 percent this year. But with holiday spending comes the risk of consumers being targeted by more sophisticated scams, both in store and online.
According to a WSAV report, law enforcement officials typically see a large spike in consumer fraud during the holiday season. As a result, South Carolina's Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the South Carolina Secret Service and local law enforcement officials are teaming up to help consumers protect themselves this shopping season.
Police note that many thefts occur when people leave purchases in plain view in their vehicles or forget to lock their cars, but the methods used by many scammers are becoming increasingly more complex.
Identity theft is also a growing problem and shoppers are usually targeted through "skimming," or the process of stealing credit card or personal identification numbers. Past scams involved skimming devices that were attached to ATMs or credit card machines and required the person stealing the information to go back and retrieve the device. An ABC report, however, notes that skimmers are now rigged to send the information directly to the thief via text message. Consumers are urged to carefully review credit card and bank statements to verify all charges on the account.
People paying in cash and receiving change should also be more aware this season. The WSAV report notes that the SC Secret Service typically collects around $40,000 per month in counterfeit currency, but that number rises over 20 percent during the holiday season, usually due to an increase in counterfeit $100 dollar bills.
The Christmas season also offers scammers more high-profile opportunities to target consumers. Recently, federal law enforcement official shut down 82 websites that were selling counterfeit goods. According to Attorney General Eric Holder, the targeted websites included those selling everything from sporting equipment, to shoes and illegal copies of DVDs, music and computer software.
Article provided by Richard J. Breibart
Visit us at www.breibartlaw.com
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