Michigan’s top law enforcement official is raising awareness of potential scams ahead of the holiday season.
Attorney General Dana Nessel spoke with 9&10 News about how shoppers can be on the lookout for for suspicious offers.
“Over 80% of people are going to be scammed or targeted for a scam at some point during the holiday season," Nessel said. “So this is going to happen to everybody, but there are things that you can do to better prepare yourself.”
She says that consumers should be careful with a host of scams, including misleading travel offers, overly restrictive memberships and contacts from relatives that seem out of the ordinary.
Advancements in AI technology have made it easy for bad actors to potentially impersonate a loved one and prey on their relatives.
Nessel says that anyone who receives an unusual contact should reach out through some other means to confirm that it’s legitimate.
The attorney general encouraged consumers to be discerning with where you buy holiday gifts, to shop with known retailers and look out for deals that might be too good to be true.
“They’re going to try to sell you sometimes a vastly inferior product to what you think you’re buying, or sometimes it’s just a total scam — it’s not a real company at all," she said. “Make sure you do your research. Try to purchase items only from stores that have good reputations,”
Nessel encouraged anyone who thinks they may have been scammed to reach out to the attorney general’s office, which can help with identity theft and warn other consumers about prevalent scams.
