Scammers taking advantage of ongoing supply chain issues during holiday season

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Scammers are taking advantage of the ongoing supply chain issues to steal from unwitting victims this holiday season.

While it’s impossible to know every scam out there, the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs wants you to be on the lookout for some red flags.

First up, be careful how you pay. This is especially true if you’re using pre-paid debit cards, gift cards, wire/bank transfer, payment apps or crypto-currency.

Next, never give away personal information. Online scammers and cold callers may ask for things like passwords and bank account information.

When it comes to making donations to charities, the South Carolina Secretary of State’s website allows the public to see if a charity is registered and legitimate.

The SCDCA also says to be aware of scammers on social media platforms, and if anything seems to good to be true, it probably is.

“We have reports of seeing a rock bottom price and they will go on his website or it will be on Facebook Marketplace. They will send the money in payment app or some other uncommon form of payment and guess what? Nothing shows up,” said Bailey Parker with SCDCA.

It’s also important to make sure websites begin with “HTTPS.” If it doesn’t, the website is not secure.