Here’s how Arizonans can avoid scams this holiday season

PHOENIX — With the holiday season in full swing, Arizonans will see lots of gifts and other items exchanging hands over the next few weeks.

Jasmine Hill, an operations engagement lead with the Better Business Bureau, told KTAR News 92.3 FM there are ways to make sure that scammers don’t take advantage this season.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is,” Hill said.

What tips can help avoid holiday scams?

There are multiple ways scammers can look to take money and information from people, but a popular holiday ruse involves package delivery services.

Hill says that if you get an email from someone posing to be FedEx or UPS with a link to reschedule a package delivery, it’s likely a scam.

Some signs the email is not authentic include the email sender asking for your address, credit/debit card details and asking for other personal details.

Hill also suggests these tips to avoid the scam:

• Write down where you ordered packages from and their expected delivery dates.
• Check the end of the email address and make sure the domain is from the correct company.
• Check for spelling and grammar errors.

“You just want to double-check everything, read patiently and read slowly,” Hill said.

How can I report a holiday scam?

Anyone who thinks they’ve been scammed or recognized one in the moment can report it through the BBB website.

The BBB scam tracker is a free tool that lets users look up popular scams and report them for investigation.

BBB said it saved consumers around $21 million with the tool in 2022.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Nick Sadowski contributed to this report.

Follow @KTAR923