MISSOULA - Consumers are expected to set a Cyber Monday spending record.
Adobe Analytics is predicting shoppers will spend more than $11 billion online, easily topping the $9.1 billion shoppers spent on Black Friday.
The weekend after Thanksgiving is huge for holiday shopping which means people can check off all the items on their lists.
But shoppers also need to be careful to make sure that they are not being scammed.
So here is what the Better Business Bureau (BBB) suggests — not only on Cyber Monday — but all month long when shopping online:
- Stay away from social media ad pop-ups, they are normally not reliable.
- Check the legitimacy of companies by researching the company and its products.
- Look for "https" in the web address. The "s" stands for secure, which means consumers are going to be buying something securely.
- Use a credit card, not a debit card. There is a much better chance of getting money back using a debit card if scammed.
People can also report all scams to the BBB's Scam Tracker at https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker.
The BBB’s Logan Hickle had some additional advice about paying for gifts this year.
"And then also with budgets, tight inflation, the whole shebang. We know what's going on in the market at the moment. You may want to look at using some of your credit card points to purchase gifts,” Hickle said.
“A lot of these credit card companies have online shops where you can exchange gifts for items. I've done it myself multiple times,” Hickle continued. “And you can purchase Christmas gifts through there with your point so it's not actually costing me any money at all."
