BBB warns of online scams amid the holiday shopping season

JACKSON, Tenn. — The 2025 holiday shopping season is here and the Better Business Bureau urges you to shop safe.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are quickly approaching.

As consumers gear up to shop for the holidays, scammers are looking for ways to get into your wallet.

“Americans are now trying to find the cheapest option that they can get, so of course, scammers are realizing that,” said Toddnetta Trice with the BBB of the Mid-South. “They will post that they have these products for a really, really low price.”

Trice tells us the number one riskiest scam this season is online purchase scams.

“What I have been seeing a lot lately is that Barbie Dreamhouse is available, of course, for children, and it is over a hundred bucks,” Trice said. “You would come across that Barbie Dreamhouse on a look alike or a fake website that’ll show that Barbie Dreamhouse for about $29.99 or $39.99.”

Trice says to look out for huge discounts on hot gift items, especially those advertised on social media or unfamiliar websites.

“You definitely have to look at your URL, because a lot of times, those fake websites will look a lot closely to the real website, so making sure that it’s not an extra ‘s’ or it is an extra ‘s’ or a dash that’s including in the URL,” said Trice.

To be safe this season, stay away from websites with no working customer service number or physical address, and use a credit card in case something goes wrong.

Trice says if the deal looks too good to be true, there’s a good chance it is.

To report a scam to the BBB Scam Tracker, click here.

For more local news, click here.