IRS Issues Christmas Warning to Americans [Video]

Americans are being warned to beware of scammers stealing their personal information during online shopping sprees, just as millions prepare to logon to buy Christmas presents this month.

The countdown to the holidays is well underway off the back of Thanksgiving, and millions of shoppers have already bought goods online during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Yet millions more dollars are still set to be spent in the U.S. as consumers shop for gifts for the various upcoming holidays, including Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.

Financial experts have long warned that busy times of the year for online shopping are particularly likely to see an increased threat from scammers trying to siphon off funds for themselves.

Last week, online safety experts warned fake websites set up by cybercriminals were targeting shoppers. Online “phishing”—attempts to obtain sensitive information through trickery—is another threat. Chase Bank recently released a series of tips for how to avoid being fooled.

And now the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is also warning online shoppers …