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AARP holiday scam tips

Scammers are trying to hack your information all year long, but especially during the holidays, according to an AARP survey.AARP Director of Fraud Prevention Programs Kathy Stokes says a recent survey showed 20 percent of people failed a five-point fraud test. She says scammers ramp up the efforts during this time of year. “Well, right around the holiday season the common ones we’re seeing (are) related to gift cards, charity donations, and also package delivery,” Stokes says when it comes to charity donations, most people don’t check to make sure the charity is legitimate. “Only about a third of people check out a charity before they give money,” she added. “But for those people who do check out the charity, about half of them don’t donate. And why is that? They find out that the charity doesn’t actually exist, or they find out that the fundraising company is keeping most of the money.” For gift cards, Stokes suggests not buying the cards on the big racks in stores, instead purchase cards from the company’s website.

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