Here’s an important warning for you when shopping online. Criminals have turned their attention to parents trying to find that special gift their kids want.

Experts say because of supply chain problems across the country criminals are taking advantage by creating fake e-commerce websites.

Here’s how one of the most common scams works. Your child tells you they want a certain bicycle for Christmas. You seek out the online stores you know, but because of the supply chain issues that bike is not available. You keep looking. You type that bicycle into your search engine, and a site pops up and it says the bike your child wants is in stock. It’s a little more expensive. But, you’re okay with that, so you go ahead and put your credit card information in.

Experts say, instead of getting a bicycle, what you’ve done is given away your personal info plus your credit card information so now an online criminal can go on a shopping spree with it.

To protect yourself when buying online, you should always follow this rule: use a credit card and don’t ever use your debit card to pay online. Debit cards offer no fraud protection, while most credit cards do.

Stick to the stores and websites you know are real, and if there’s one you come across you’ve never heard of, verify it. Check and see if the domain on the website matches the email info on the website. If it doesn’t, it’s likely fraud.

Look for contact information. Call the phone number listed on the site and see if you can talk to a person. If not, don’t trust it. You can also check with the better business bureau to make sure the business is legit.

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