There's nothing quite like the thrill of getting a great deal, especially when you've got lots of holiday shopping to do. But that thrill can turn into a nightmare when you become the victim of an online shopping scam.

With Christmas around the corner, hundreds of thousands of people are heading online to get their shopping done or turning to the internet to sell hand-made gifts or other items. Meanwhile, scammers are logging on to rob you of your hard-earned money and personal information.

Our Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is working with the federal government to share information to help you to protect yourself.

The two most prevalent of these holiday scams are non-delivery and non-payment crimes, according to the FBI. Non-delivery scams are where the buyer pays for goods or services they see online, but then never actually receives them. Conversely, the non-payment scams are when a seller delivers the goods or services, but then is never actually paid.

According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center's 2021 report, non-payment or non-delivery scams cost people more than $337 million last year. Credit card fraud accounted for another $173 million in losses.

Similar scams to beware of this time of year are auction fraud, where a product is misrepresented on an auction site, and gift card fraud, when a seller asks you to pay with a pre-paid card, then steals the card number and PIN instead of using the gift card as a payment.

We recommend you pay attention to cybersecurity with these steps:

• Use strong passwords.
• Use multi-factor authentication.
• Install your software updates. 
• Remember that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Don't click any suspicious links or attachments in emails, on websites, or on social media. Phishing scams and similar crimes get you to click on links and give up personal information like your name, password, and bank account number. In some cases, you may unknowingly download malware to your device. Be especially wary if a company asks you to update your password or account information. Look up the company's phone number on your own and call the company.

It can be a hassle to use strong, unique passwords for each account, but it can save you from having all of your accounts breached because a scammer figured out the one password you use for everything. Use a password manager app with multi-factor authentication, so if someone tries to get in, you will know right away.

You might not think software updates are important for cybersecurity, but the latest updates can make a big difference. Scammers are always trying to exploit flaws in the system, while network defenders are fixing those flaws as fast as they can. Those defenders need us to update our software though, or we won't have the fixes on our devices. Without the fixes, you're vulnerable to bad actors.

Parents need to be especially wary. Anywhere kids are online, predators are there too. If you're buying your child a new laptop, tablet, phone or other device, implement parental controls and know what your kids are doing online. You can find more information on how to keep your kids safe on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children webpage.​