GREENSBORO, N.C. — What is it? What is the present you're looking for, but it's out of stock or you're just trying to find it at a better price?
The clock is ticking which means you're getting desperate. And that’s when “it” happens.
“You're online and you’re looking but you can't find it anywhere but then you see a social media ad or an online ad pops up and it's for the toy you're looking for and it is maybe on a deep discount but the website looks professional and the pictures look professional, so you hit buy. But you either get a cheap counterfeit version of the toy or item or no item at all,” said Lechelle Yates of the Better Business Bureau.
It's one thing when you're buying from a retailer you know. But when you've never bought from the company before, you need to research before you hit that buy button.
Open up a new tab and Google the name of the company and reviews. It takes just a few minutes to research the site and see if other customers are pleased or not before you buy.
“In 2022 the BBB did a study we found the number one reason that people lost money in an online shopping scam was, ready, drum roll please, the enticement of a great sale price. We just seem to lose our minds when we see a great sale and we click buy instead of opening a new tab and doing a little bit of research when it's a company we never bought from before,” said Yates.
You've heard it before, but it’s worth saying again: if the deal is too good to be true...