BBB warns over scams during the holiday season

The Better Business Bureau is amplifying a warning from the head of BMO’s financial crimes unit regarding a multitude of scams that are targeting holiday shoppers this season.

The various scams include the use of fake retailer websites  using artificial intelligence to push deep-fake videos that impersonate brands and influencers. Additionally, QR codes with malicious links are a method that has become “extremely widespread” and may be hard to detect if they appear on display in public settings.

Wes Lafortune of BBB says older consumers are more susceptible to these scams, particularly ones using AI.

Lafortune also warns the risk of skimming, where fraudsters insert devices in public ATMs to steel funds from the user’s card, and digital pickpocketing, where fraudsters use devices in typically public crowds to steal money from people’s digital wallets from their phones.