Be smart and avoid credit card scams around the holidays

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - As the holiday season approaches, scammers are on the lookout for their next victims.

"There's a sense of urgency that's prayed upon the victim to try and get someone to do something quickly without taking the time to verify what's happening," said Christopher Johnson, the Special Agent in charge of the Springfield Office.

Many scams occur throughout the year, including those that exploit artificial intelligence.

"Voice scams, it may be some that you've heard in the past of a kidnapping or a crime was committed or something of a loved one, and they utilize that voice," said Johnson.

Another scam involves receiving text messages from individuals pretending to be your local post office. If you receive a text stating, 'Your package cannot be delivered,' it's best to delete it and move on.

A common type of fraud involves phishing emails and fraudulent app purchases.

"If you get an email or any sort of business, and you get an email that is not from the business, you start setting yourself up to concerns with information getting taken from malware or any other sort of virus they can put on there, which then in turn, they can try to get your credit card information," said Johnson.

During the holidays, you might encounter the "puppy scam," where scammers pose as sellers of pets during the festive season. Often, they will request a deposit to hold the pet, take the money, and then disappear without providing the animal.

Although it may be intimidating, there are precautions you can take to help avoid being compromised. When online entities offer you the option to save your card, never click 'agree'.

"I can't stress enough about verifying, as best as you can, the site, the vendor, which you may be purchasing something from. Do your best to make sure that its legitimate before you even give a credit card information," said Johnson.

If you do fall victim to a credit card scam, its important to stay calm and act fast.

"So first they should call their financial institution either to try and stop it or to determine if it could be a scam. The second thing goes back to what I mentioned with the ic3.Gov. A very quick way is to file a complaint through them. It can be done online through the website," said Johnson.

To report a potential scam, or find other ways to keep yourself safe, click here.