(pensive music) - What really became apparent since COVID was that we as consumers are much easier targets because we are all on our smart devices more than we've ever been.

We all enjoy shopping online.

It's convenient.

It gives you the opportunity to compare pricing and things like that.

But unfortunately, so much of what you see online is in fact false.

- I was scammed by ordering online and only to find out after a month that I didn't receive the merchandise.

The monies had been taken out of my checking account and to find out that the company did not exist, that items I ordered, I would never get.

- Scammers are notorious for being imposters.

You're gonna get an ad that looks like it's from Amazon.

You're gonna get an ad that looks like it's from Walmart or you're gonna get a website that looks like it's from Macy's.

The consumer has to take responsibility for paying really close attention to the details because the easiest way to lure you in is with the familiarity of a brand name that you trust and that you've done business with in the past.

So that's the first thing you've gotta be careful of is is this the real McCoy?

One of the things we tell consumers is instead of responding to that ad, you go directly to the website yourself and then that way you know that you are at Amazon or you are at Macy's, or you are at Walmart, instead of potentially being taken someplace that you don't belong.

The other thing is is the pricing is always better.

So you know that old adage of it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

- I was taught in class that if I ran across a scam or suspected a scam, that I could contact the Better Business Bureau for information about that organization and to be patient until I got an answer from them not to go ahead with contact to the organization.

- Unfortunately, we need to take responsibility.

This is our money that they're trying to separate us from, right?

And so it's worth spending just a couple of extra minutes to verify that that website, in fact, is legitimate.

- [Narrator] Made possible by a grant from the West End Home Foundation, Senior Trust Digital Initiative.