Massachusetts Residents Being Targeted for Care Package Scam

Here in Massachusetts and throughout the country, scams have become as routine as doing laundry. This is quite sad as we constantly have to protect ourselves from having our identity stolen and our bank accounts emptied. Whether it's through email, texts, phone calls, websites, etc., we're constantly being inundated by hackers attempting to swipe our personal information. For me personally, I have had to close credit cards from Discover and have new ones sent and activated due to bogus purchases made on my cards. It just never ends. Whether we like it or not (and who really likes it), we have to continue to protect ourselves by being vigilant.

Massachusetts Residents Should Take Note of This New Care Package Scam

If you have a friend or a loved one that is currently in prison, you may want to send that person a care package. That seems totally reasonable. The issue that you want to avoid when sending a care package to an inmate is that of fake websites. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), there are some sites out there that look like legitimate websites that offer care package services. If you mistake one of these websites for a real one and make a purchase, not only will your account be charged but the inmate will not receive the package.

According to the BBB, Massachusetts Residents Should Follow These Five Prevention Steps in Avoiding This Scam:

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• Understand the Laws Around Care Packages - You can't just send any item you want to prisons.
• Check website reviews from outside sources. Do your homework. Don't blindly purchase items from a website that you're not familiar with.
• Always use your credit card to pay - If a company, especially an online company doesn't accept a credit card in this day in age, the fix in.
• Beware of lookalike sites - Make sure you're purchasing the item from a legitimate website.
• Check for contact information before making a purchase - If the contact information is not legitimate or bogus, that's a red flag not to make the purchase.

You can get deeper into these steps and get more details on this scam by going here.

READ ON: While we're talking about scams, check out these crime locations.