Colorado expert shares how to protect your money amid surge in holiday season scams
Right now, the Northern Colorado Credit Union in Greeley is chock full of holiday cheer. President and CEO Meagan Barrett says 'tis the season, however, to get caught off guard by grinchy scammers who want your money.
"They prey on your want to give to people. When purchasing goes up, the temptation to take advantage of that also increases," said Barrett.
This year, scammers are specifically targeting online spending on your phone. According to Adobe Analytics, 2025 is expected to be the first full year that mobile devices make up most online spending; 56% sales this holiday season will be from a phone, which is upwards of $140 billion.
"We see really a lot of card fraud this time of year here in Colorado," confirmed Barrett. "You see a really great deal online, and you're like, 'I can't pass this up.' You go ahead and click buy now, but it's not actually the true retailer, and then your card information is stolen."
So, Barrett encourages, do your due diligence in investigating if those deals are legitimate. "Are you going to the original retailer's website? Are you ensuring that when you're checking out, it's secure and ensures you're not using public Wi-Fi? A lot of traveling and trying to get those deals on the go. But unfortunately, with public Wi-Fi, you could be putting your card information out there to lots of scammers."
Also, be diligent about checking your accounts. "A great way to protect yourself is to set up transaction alerts on your card. That way, if a transaction comes through, you get the opportunity to approve or deny it or see if something looks unusual. It's not enough to wait for your monthly or quarterly statement to come out. There are a lot of regulations that prohibit us from disputing charges past a 10-day mark - be looking at those transactions for regular activity - possibly even daily."
If you suspect you've been scammed, it is important to act immediately. There are resources available online.
