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Here's what you need to know before buying anything on Amazon Prime Day

Be on the lookout - now more than ever - for websites and social media ads that are fake or look similar to the real deal.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It is the first day of Amazon Prime Day and as consumers look for those good deals, they should be mindful of scammers prepared to steal information and money.

There are always online shopping scams, but Mid-South Better Business Bureau Public Relations Outreach Director Daniel Irwin said there is a huge increase each year on Amazon Prime day because there are so many good deals on items.

With those hard-to-beat amazon prime deals, scammers are working hard to lure shoppers in.

“Not only is it Amazon Prime, but all the major retailers try to compete and it’s all online deals. All the deals are online only and with that, you see scammers also trying to compete,” Irwin explained.

He added that people should be on the lookout now more than ever for websites and social media ads that are fake or look similar to the real deal.

Irwin said he has already seen an uptick in their scam tracker reports, specifically with reporting fake social media ads that link to fake websites.

“For instance, you might be on Facebook or something like that and you might come across an ad that advertises something at a really low price,” Irwin said. “You click on that link and it takes you to a website that may look a little like Target, or Amazon, but it’s not really. “

When on a phone, shoppers may not be able to see the full URL to know that it is not actually Amazon’s website that they clicked on, but instead, a fake one.

Irwin said for better protection, when shopping online, use a credit card rather than a debit card, especially on sites that shoppers are not familiar with.

“You can dispute the transaction. It’s much much easier. If you don’t get what you order or sometimes you don’t get what’s advertised. You think you’re getting a high-end electronic and something comes from China and it’s just a knock-off,” Irwin said. “You can dispute it. You’ve got more recourse because again, you’re talking about a fake retailer, so you’re not going to get your money back from the website if it’s a scam, to begin with.”

When using a phone to shop, Irwin said people should type in the actual website into the address bar.

“It really doesn’t matter who you are. Anybody can fall for this. That’s why it’s so important to be on the lookout. One red flag may not mean anything. Once you see the first red flag, you need to start looking out for the others,” Irwin stated.

He added that the Mid-South BBB is very aware of these scams which is why they are fully staffed, especially for this day.

Call the BBB if a deal seems too good to be true. They will let shoppers know if it is a red flag.

In addition, use the scam tracker, which will also say which sites to stay away from. Click here for the scam tracker.

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