Avoid These Labor Day Scams

This Labor Day, you can expect lots of sales, busy airports and crowded highways. You also can expect plenty of scammers trying to take advantage of shoppers and travelers over the long holiday weekend. 

Whether you plan to hit the road or stay at home and shop online for deals, be on the lookout for these scams and take these steps to protect your wallet and your personal information.

Labor Day deal scams

Retailers slash prices on a range of items during Labor Day sales. However, be careful as you shop to avoid these common tactics scammers use to lure consumers looking for deals.

Social media ads for discounted goods 

Beware of ads and sponsored posts for deeply discounted products on Facebook and Instagram. Rather than a good deal, you could end up with inferior products, counterfeit items or nothing at all. According to BBB, many of the ads are posted by groups operating out of China.

‍How to stay safe: Don’t click on ads for discounted items. Go directly to the company’s site to see if you can find the advertised deal. And before you buy, find out if there are complaints about the company by searching for its name and “reviews.”

Fake shopping sites

Scammers create websites that look like actual retail sites and offer products at low prices in an attempt to steal credit and debit card information from consumers who shop on these sites.

‍How to stay safe: Avoid sites that don’t have an “s” in  https:// in the url that designates that they are secure. Also, check the url to see if it includes words in addition to the name of the retailer, such as Nikedeals.com or Bestbuybargains.com, which could indicate that it’s a knock-off site. Typos, bad grammar, poor website design and a lack of customer support contact information also are red flags.

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‍Email or text message offers

Watch out for emails and text messages with coupon codes or deep discounts on items. They could come from scammers hoping you’ll click on links, which could install malware on your device or lead to fake retails sites. ‍

How to stay safe: Don’t click on links in any unsolicited emails or text messages, even if they appear to come from legitimate retailers. Visit retailers’ sites directly to see if you can find the deal or coupon code.

Package delivery scams

If you shop online, be wary of any emails or text messages that appear to be from the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, FedEx or other delivery services and claim there’s a problem with the package delivery. Scammers send these messages to get consumers to provide personal information or pay to receive packages. 

How to stay safe: Don’t click on links in these messages. Go directly to the shipping company’s website to check the status of the shipment. And be aware that major shipping companies won’t ask for your Social Security number or account login credentials to deliver a package. 

Labor Day travel scams

Labor Day travel is expected to be up 9% over last year, according to AAA. Scammers will be trying to take advantage of the large number of people looking for last-minute travel deals.

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Fake hotel booking sites

Scammers create hotel booking sites that look official but aren’t affiliated with any hotels or legitimate travel booking sites. If you search online for hotels in cities you plan to visit, these sites can pop up in search results. 

How to stay safe: Avoid using broad search terms, such as “hotel deals” or “cheapest hotel rates,” which can generate sponsored results that lead to questionable sites. Instead, use reputable travel aggregator sites to compare hotel prices, such as Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia and Priceline.

Flight scams

If you’re looking for a last-minute deal on a flight or need to book a new flight because of a cancellation, be wary of airline ticket booking sites with low fares. Scammers create these sites to sell fake tickets. Scammers also send emails and text messages to travelers claiming that their flights have been canceled then offer to rebook their flights—for an additional charge. However, the flight actually hasn’t been canceled. It’s just a scam to get your credit card number.

‍How to stay safe: Don’t purchase airline tickets through unfamiliar sites. Remember, deals that seem too good to be true usually are. And don’t click on links in emails or text messages that might appear to come from an airline. Call the airline directly or visit its website to check the status of your flight.

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Gas pump card skimmers

Scammers add devices to card readers at gas pumps that can steal information from the magnetic stripe of a card. These skimmers are discrete and don’t interfere with the original card reader’s ability to process a transaction. So you likely won’t notice that anything is amiss.

‍How to stay safe: Pay with a credit card, which has more fraud protections than debit cards.  Tapping with your card to pay rather than inserting or swiping it is safer. Better yet, pay inside rather than at the pump.

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