“Unfortunately in today’s digital world, the optimism we all like to see and hope for needs to be tempered with a healthy dose of skepticism. “Don’t assume someone is sending you something simply to be nice,” the BBB president explains. When going online to shop or simply to check your email, Bernas urges people to treat all messages with a measured amount of caution. ![]() Do not send any money until you have verified who the person is and set up a method to receive the product – before full payment is made. Message Scams – Be careful if you post questions asking for help in finding a particular gift and receive a message from someone you don’t know offering to sell you the product. Do not click on any links you find in the post as that may lead to identity theft. Hacked Profiles of Friends – If a friend’s status states they just got a free tablet by answering a few questions, their page may have been hacked. Posts from these friends may contain links to other pages that will infect your computer with malware, if clicked, or trick you into visiting other scam sites. If you friend someone you do not know you will be giving them access to your postings, personal information, and your list of friends as well. Some of the ways that consumers are ripped-off on social media sites include:įake Profiles – Be careful who you “friend”. Consumers should also be careful and not let their guard down to avoid being tricked by crooks who take advantage of the trust that we place in our online “friends”. This holiday season the “Secret Sister” scam is not the only danger lurking on social media sites. And those convicted have had to pay fines and or spend time in prison.” However, the Federal Trade Commission has occasionally prosecuted pyramid schemes as deceptive trade practices, or fraud. In addition to the loss of money in buying a gift, Bernas noted: “Prosecution for participating in pyramid schemes is determined by local authorities. “Also, I’m fairly certain that they have not considered the legality of participating.” Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois. “Those who get involved often do so thinking that the amount needed to participate is so small it’s worth the risk if they’ll receive gifts worth maybe a couple hundred dollars,” says Steve J. Postal Inspection Service, gift chains aren’t just „mathematically impossible” they’re also illegal if they request money or others items of value and promise a substantial return to the participants. But the Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns, more seriously, those who chose to participate could find that they are involved in an illegal “pyramid scheme”.īasically, the secret sister gift exchange promises that if you send one gift valued at $10 you will receive 36 gifts in return. This is a classic example of something that sounds too good to be true of actually being too good to be true.As a scam, at best, it’s essentially an elaborate new twist on the old “chain letters”. In past years, some viral posts claimed that someone could receive dozens of gifts in exchange for one $10 gift. ![]() While there are no known cases of social media users being arrested for participating in such schemes, another reason not to participate is you may never get the gifts as promised. This is because paying $10 in a gift exchange for an unknown number of gifts is considered gambling, and gambling using the mail is illegal. Not only are some social media gift exchanges a scam, but they could also be illegal.Ī federal statute says, "Any letter, package, postal card, or circular concerning any lottery, gift enterprise, or similar scheme offering prizes dependent in whole or in part upon lot or chance" could lead to a conviction of up to two years in federal prison. As the holidays approach, police departments are once again warning about the Secret Sister Gift Exchange, which has been circulating on social media for a number of years.
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