Tis the season for holiday spending, which unfortunately means fraudsters and scammers are ramping up their game.

As you make your lists and check them twice, be vigilant regarding those who would exploit your generosity and attempt to take advantage of holiday festivities.

Here are some tips to keep in mind as we head into the heart of the holiday season:

• Avoid doing business with unfamiliar retail, travel, and charity sites that might pop up in your inbox, text message, or on a social media feed. At the very least, do a search for the organization’s name to see if any red flags have been reported by other individuals before handing over financial information.
• Beware of deep discounts on hot-ticket items or deals that seem too good to be true, especially from new or unfamiliar businesses that appear on social media pages.
• Spelling or grammar errors are often a dead giveaway for a scam.
• Avoid businesses that do not list a physical address or phone number.
• Avoid businesses with websites that do not include a privacy policy.
• If you receive a TEXT Message survey or offer of a trial in which you pay for shipping only, be extremely cautious. These are often fraud, contact the merchant directly and do not sign up for something without doing your research. If it seems too good to be true, highly likely it is fraud.
• If you receive an email from a large merchant indicating you could receive this awesome product if you pay some amount to receive it, do your own research and contact the merchant directly to see if this is legitimate. It does not make sense for you to have to go to a store to buy a gift card of any kind and use that gift card to pay to ship an item you never ordered. Beware!

Enjoy the season and its many festivities, and do not hesitate to reach out to TelComm Credit Union if ever in doubt about any message you receive. We are here to help keep you and your account secure.