Scammers want to make your holidays less merry

It’s the time of year when scammers try to take the cheer out of Christmas.

Kirk Spielmaker of the FBI’s Jacksonville Field Office says people should be mindful of donation scams that might involve spoof charities and hurricane recovery efforts.

If you didn’t reach out to the charitable organization first, that should be a red flag to gather information about that particular organization, Spielmaker says.

“It’s OK to hang up the phone, or if you receive a text message or an email, you don’t necessarily have to reply to that text message or click on a link that was provided in an email to you,” he said.

Other scams include online shopping offers with too-good-to-be-true deals and social media scams offering gift cards in exchange for personal information.

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Spielmaker advises that if you do become a victim or you think you might have been ripped off, report it to the FBI so investigators can develop any possible trends and catch the scammers.

You can make a report at ic3.gov or call 800-FBI-TIPS.