PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — As millions of Americans are shopping online for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the Better Business Bureau is reminding shoppers to be aware of online shopping scams.
Bright and early at the Gardens Mall, hundreds of shoppers waited in line to get their hands on Black Friday deals.
Whitney Jester, director of marketing and merchant relations for the mall, told WPTV they're seeing more crowds this year compared to last year, starting days before the Thanksgiving holiday.
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"We had a very strong pre-Thanksgiving week this week," Jester said. "So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday traffic and shopping was almost to Black Friday level."
Across PGA Boulevard at the Legacy Place Best Buy, shoppers also lined up early to find the best deals on electronics.
"There's a lot of different deals around here, so kind of cool just to walk around," Best Buy shopper Mitchell Newara said. "Just trying to get my game set up a little bit better. So just looking at external mics and different things like that."
According to WalletHub, 122.7 million Americans shopped in stores on Black Friday last year while 130 million people stayed home and shopped online.
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This year, according to Forbes, 71.1 million people are expected to shop online on Cyber Monday.
"The No. 1 most reported scam in 2022 continues to be online purchase scams," Marc Simmons, director of investigations for the BBB, said. "These take the form of paying for items, buying them online and not receiving them, credit card information being collected and then later used fraudulently, copycat websites that look like real company websites."
That's why the BBB of West Palm Beach is reminding online shoppers to be cautious this holiday season.
The BBB warns shoppers to know who they're shopping with and stick with names and brands they know. Also, check if the site is secure by looking for a lock icon in the URL and take your time shopping. Read the fine print.
Also, if it's too good to be true, it probably is.
