Get the Latest Tips on Fraud & Scam Prevention This Holiday Season

On November 7 at 12:00 pm, we will be hosting a Tele-Town Hall event on the latest fraud and scams as we head into the holiday season with national fraud expert and author, Doug Shadel. Call 833-380-0683 on November 7 at 12:00 pm or tune in via our Facebook page by clicking here.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - — - - — - - - — - - - — - - - - - - - - - - —

Fraud is on the rise and knowledge about how to stay safe from fraud is dropping. Education plays an important role in combatting fraud, but we can't educate our way out of what is now a rampant issue.

This year, significantly more consumers plan on shopping online compared to the last two years. Fraudsters often place fake ads online and across popular social media sites for steep discounts on the hottest items, for example.

Use of peer-to-peer (P2P) payment services has increased significantly as well. In the unfortunate event of fraud, these apps provide little protection to affected consumers.

Gift cards continue to be popular gift options, however many consumers have experienced either giving or receiving a gift 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. It may be safest to purchase a gift card directly from the card issuer’s website.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - — - - — - - - — - - - — - - - - - - - - - - —

Doug Shadel, PhD, is a former fraud investigator and special assistant attorney general with the Washington State Attorney General’s office. He served as the State Director for AARP Washington for almost 20 years. Shadel has produced numerous educational videos, academic studies and has co-authored several books about fraud including Weapons of Fraud (2005), Outsmarting the Scam Artists (2012), and The AARP Fraud Fighter Handbook (2024). He also co-authored the AARP Fraud Frontier Report, one of the largest studies AARP has ever done on consumer fraud. Shadel is now Managing Director of Fraud Prevention Strategies, LLC, A Seattle-based consulting firm. He can be reached at doug@fraudpreventionstrategies.com