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FBI warns of holiday scams

Like the millions of honest shoppers this holiday season, scammers also are on the lookout for deals.

An FBI news release is warning shoppers that scammers use unorthodox means to steal money and personal information.

The two most prevalent holiday scams are known as “nondelivery” and “nonpayment” crimes.

In a nondelivery crime, buyers pay for goods or services they find online, but they are never delivered.

A nonpayment crime scams the seller, when goods and services are shipped but the seller is never paid.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 44,220 complaints totaling more than $276 million for a period through Oct. 2022.

Locally, more than 600 victims in Western Pennsylvania in 2021 lost $848,571 in these types of crimes.

So far in 2022, Western Pennsylvania residents have lost $936,997.

FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall said that while scams do not change significantly, the techniques used by scammers and the methods of deploying scams do change.

To view prevalent scams and learn tips to avoid them, visit IC3.gov or fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/safety-resources/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/holiday-scams.

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