COLORADO SPRINGS — With just days left before Christmas some people are choosing to make those last-minute holiday purchases through posts and videos they see on social media sites. Consumer protection experts are sending an important warning about why you’ll want to do some homework on the companies before you buy.
More items are being marketed and sold on social media than ever before. It’s a great way for small businesses to get their items in front of consumers, but unfortunately, we’ve learned what you see isn’t always what you get.
Adah Rodriguez at the Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado says consumers do have a desire to make purchases like this through social media with the click of a button.
”The fact that people want convenience and they want to be able to shop quickly at 2 a.m. from their house and so they are trying to find ways to do that,” said Rodriguez.
The BBB warns it’s also providing opportunities for bad actors
”On the opposite side increasing opportunities for scammers to get in there and create fake products and fake stores and being able to phish for information from shoppers,” said Rodriguez.
Before clicking to buy on social media platforms, consumer protection experts say it’s worth learning more about the company and reading reviews. It also helps to document the process.
”We do encourage shoppers to take screenshots and photos of the website they are using if they suspect may be fraudulent behavior,” said Rodriguez.
The Federal Trade Commission just issued a similar consumer warning about this issue as well. You can find their advice here: consumer.ftc.gov/
The BBB's Scam Tracker traces reports of consumer experiences like this.
BBB experts say year after year online shopping scams are their most common and riskiest scams and they come in many forms.
Better Business Bureau Risk Report
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