Before You Click Buy: Safety Tips for Online Shopping This Holiday Season

The holiday season fills our social calendars as well as our online shopping carts. Between selecting gifts, tracking deliveries, and preparing to spend time with family, it’s easy to move quickly through a text message or an unfamiliar website before verifying that it is legitimate. Scammers count on that moment of distraction.

A holiday shopping scam may begin with an advertisement for a popular gift at an unusually low price. The website looks convincing, the countdown says the sale is almost over, and the checkout page asks for your payment information. In other cases, a text appears to come from a delivery company, claiming there is a problem with a package and asking you to follow a link. The goal is the same: to get you to act before you check whether the message is real.

Financial crimes are a serious public safety concern, and their impact extends beyond the money lost. A victim may have to replace a bank card, secure compromised accounts, and spend hours trying to recover what was taken. For someone living on a fixed income, that loss can affect groceries, bills, or holiday plans. These crimes can also leave people feeling embarrassed or reluctant to tell anyone what happened. No one should feel ashamed for being deceived by a criminal who worked to make a lie look convincing.

At the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, our work includes investigating fraud and helping residents recognize warning signs before they become victims. We share information, encourage reporting, and help connect the pieces when a crime occurs. The sooner a victim reports what happened and contacts their financial institution, the sooner steps can be taken to protect their accounts and document the incident.

If It Seems Too Good to Be True…

A few simple habits can help. If you find a deal from a seller you do not recognize, look up the business and read reviews from sources outside its website. Be cautious when a seller insists on payment by gift card, wire transfer, payment app, or cryptocurrency. When possible, use a credit card for online purchases and keep your order confirmations.

Treat unexpected delivery messages with the same care. If a text says your package cannot be delivered, open the retailer’s app or go directly to the delivery company’s website to check the status. Do not rely on the link in the message, even if it includes a familiar company name or logo.

If you think you shared payment information with a scammer, contact your bank or card issuer promptly. If you entered a password, change it right away, especially anywhere else you use that password. Report the incident to law enforcement. Your report may help investigators identify patterns and warn others.

You do not need to be suspicious of every purchase or delivery. But do give yourself permission to pause when a message creates a sense of urgency or a deal seems too good to be true. Before you hit buy, click a link, or share your information, take one more moment to verify who is on the other end of the message. That small pause may be the most valuable thing you give yourself this holiday season.

Sheriff Dennis M. Lemma, now in his 10th year leading the agency, is the 10th sheriff in the history of Seminole County. As the Chief Law Enforcement Officer, Sheriff Lemma directs the agency’s enforcement, investigative, correctional, judicial, juvenile, and support services.