Attorney General – Online Scams

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge is cautioning Arkansas when shopping online or on social media. An increase in scams has caught the attention of many who shop online whether it be a boutique or even through the Facebook Marketplace. These con artist often don’t deliver the products you paid for or even if they do it may not look like what you thought you were getting. Checking the credibility of the person you are buying from should be a step you take before making any online purchase. Such as checking the sellers reviews, number of items sold, and even account age. Bad reviews, low number of items sold or a recently made account are not always but quite often signs of an illegitimate seller. The Internet Crime Complaint Center which is a division of the FBI recently released statistics stating that cybercrime increased 20% in 2020 alone. With a total estimated loss from individuals and small businesses being roughly $4.2 billion. That trend is continuing as a steady increase in complaints have been filed thus far in the 2021 year. So do a little snooping to make sure you trust who you’re buying from, and for more information and safety tips visit fbi.gov