Holiday gift exchange scams targeting social media users

During the holiday season, tidings of joy and goodwill can be shrouded by scammers seeking to take advantage of holiday shoppers.

The director of public relations for the Better Business Bureau, Brian Oglesby, said social media gift exchanges are one of the most common types of scams the organization sees.

“In the holiday season, we see a spike in scams that relate to things we’re doing around the holidays, purchasing things, especially online, so you want to be very wary about social media posts,” said Oglesby.

These gift exchanges function like a pyramid scheme, where the person at the top benefits while others get nothing.

“A social media gift exchange scam is when someone’s reaching out to you through your social media channels, offering for you to purchase wine or a gift or some kind of product and send them to multiple addresses, and then you’ll receive product in return,” said Oglesby.

According to Oglesby, social media gift exchange scams can come in many different forms, but all with the same intentions.

“There’s going to be many versions of this—Secret Santa, secret sister, secret dog gift exchange, secret bourbon gift exchange,” said Oglesby.

Those who fall victim to the scam are asked to send in one gift in order to receive several in return. While the outcome sounds great in theory, participants may never end up receiving what was promised to them.

“The scammers are trying to get your personal information or get you to send money, and no product is going to come to you,” said Oglesby.

To avoid becoming a victim, only engage in gift exchanges with family or close friends you trust, double-check the account you’re messaging hasn’t been hacked and never share personal information or payment details with strangers.