HONOLULU — According to a new AARP report, some 80% of U.S. consumers say they have experienced some type of fraud this year, with the intensity of fraud and scam activity sure to intensify over the holiday season.

What You Need To Know

  • Updated annually, the AARP Fraud Watch Network report highlights the ways criminals target consumers during the holidays

  • The percentage of consumers who have experienced fraud via fake notifications about shipments, fraudulent online ads or other scams has increased over the last year, when 76% of AARP survey respondents indicated they had been targeted

  • Fraudsters often place fake ads online and across social media promising steep discounts on the hottest items, a potentially high-yield scam given AARP’s finding that significantly more consumers plan on shopping online compared to the last two holiday seasons

  • AARP also pointed to the continuing increase in the use of peer-to-peer payments services,  which provide little protection against scams

Updated annually, the AARP Fraud Watch Network report highlights the ways criminals target consumers during the holidays.

The percentage of consumers who have experienced fraud via fake notifications about shipments, fraudulent online ads or other scams has increased over the last year, when 76% of AARP survey respondents indicated they had been targeted. 

“The concerning findings from our annual survey are that fraud is on the rise and that knowledge about how to stay safe from fraud is dropping,” said Kathy Stokes, AARP Director of Fraud Prevention Programs. “Education plays an important role in combatting fraud, but we can’t educate our way out of what is now a rampant issue.”

As AARP noted, fraudsters often place fake ads online and across social media promising steep discounts on the hottest items, a potentially high-yield scam given AARP’s forecast that significantly more consumers plan on shopping online compared to the last two holiday seasons.

AARP also pointed to the continuing increase in the use of peer-to-peer payments services.

“A large majority of respondents shared they do business via P2P apps – such as sending money to businesses they have no previous relationship with,” AARP stated. “In the unfortunate event of fraud, these apps provide little protection to affected consumers.”

Gift cards, the gift of choice for 66% of respondents, can also put consumers at risk of fraud. More than a quarter of respondents said they either gave or received a card with no value on it.

“Criminals have old-school ways of manipulating cards hanging on retail racks and high-tech ways of searching online for cards with balances and draining them,” Stokes shared. “It may be safest to purchase a gift card directly from the card issuer’s website.”

The survey included a quiz on fraud. Only 28% of respondents were able to answer at least seven of the 10 questions included.

As Christmas approaches, AARP is offering the following reminders for safer holiday shopping.

  • Retailers will never request your login information to provide customer support.
  • Credit cards offer the most consumer protections of any payment method.
  • Regularly accepting operating system upgrade prompts on your device is important, as some updates are to patch known fraud vulnerabilities.
  • It’s risky to do a web search for a company’s customer support network because criminals buy ads impersonating those companies. Check billing and credit card statements for customer service, use the number on the back of your credit cards, or go directly to the company by typing in their web address, like www.aarp.org.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.