3 holiday scams, including a fake TSA PreCheck, that could end up stealing your money
The holiday checklist isn't complete without jotting down more than a few scams to avoid from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day.
Here are three to watch out for this season.
You paid, but not for PreCheck
Millions of people will fly over Thanksgiving or Christmas and, oddly enough, we're now being warned that scammers are sending fake emails pretending to be from TSA PreCheck. Unfortunately, you might not even realize that you've been taken until you hit the airport where you suddenly learn you learn that you aren't eligible for a smoother pre-screening security line.
You end up fleeced and frustrated.
Worse yet, the Transportation Security Administration will not issue a refund to applicants who attempt to enroll in TSA PreCheck or renew the service to speed up travel screening through security checkpoints if the consumer uses a fraudulent website.
Here's how the scam works, according to a warning from the Federal Trade Commission: You might receive a fake TSA PreCheck email that will want you to click a link. If you do that, though, you'll go to a scam website that looks official but is not legitimate.
The fake site might offer a way to pay to "enroll" or "renew" your TSA PreCheck. And that's how scammers get your money and your ID information.
The real deal: You wouldn't pay an application fee online, if you’re applying for TSA PreCheck for the first time. Instead, you'd pay in person at a TSA enrollment center. First-time applicants are not even asked to give payment information online.
These enrollment centers are at airports, Office Depot stores, some Office Max stores and elsewhere. See www.tsa.gov/precheck for enrollment center locations near you.
TSA is aware of private companies that say they can, for a fee, submit TSA PreCheck enrollment applications on behalf of applicants, according to Jessica Mayle, a regional spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration.
But it's not necessary to do that.
The TSA notes that there are three enrollment providers now, and each has slightly different costs for enrollment and renewal. Again, go to www.tsa.gov/precheck and scroll to the New TSA PreCheck Enrollment Options to see information about Idemia, Telos and Clear and their enrollment and renewal fees.
Fees for enrollment range from around $78 to $85.
"Not every enrollment provider is available in each location, so passengers can choose the one that is most convenient for them," Mayle said.
The agency notes that it takes five minutes to submit an online application and schedule an in-person appointment that includes a background check and fingerprinting at an enrollment center.
It can take three to five days to receive your Known Traveler Number. But it also can take longer than that, even up to 60 days in some cases. You will receive an email or phone notification with instructions on retrieving your KTN online.
Travelers find TSA PreCheck appealing and a way to cut out some of the hassle involved in the screening process. Eligible travelers do not need to remove shoes, belts, light outerwear, laptops, electronics larger than a cellphone or travel-size liquids, aerosols and gels from carry-on luggage.
About 99% TSA PreCheck passengers wait less than 10 minutes at airports nationwide, according to the Transportation Security Administration, which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Mayle explained that families with children can benefit, too. Children 12 and younger may accompany an enrolled parent or guardian in the TSA PreCheck lanes without restriction.
Children ages 13 through 17 must have the TSA PreCheck logo on their boarding pass. To be eligible to receive the TSA PreCheck logo on their boarding pass, the passenger between the ages of 13 and 17 must be on the same airline reservation with a TSA PreCheck-eligible parent or guardian.
Children 17 and under who will be traveling alone or without a TSA PreCheck-eligible adult must apply for TSA PreCheck to have access to expedited screening.
No one is guaranteed expedited screening, according to the agency, because TSA uses "unpredictable security measures, both seen and unseen, throughout the airport. All travelers will be screened."
The real TSA will send renewal reminder emails out, but you want to move cautiously and make sure that email is the real deal, too.
TSA PreCheck means you'd have a shot at reducing the time you're standing in line to go through security. But you don't want to be in such a rush that you mindlessly click on links in emails that you might receive out of the blue.
Bright lights turn up dim
The ginormous front lawn skeletons are making way on some front lawns for 16-foot inflatable polar bears. Or maybe a huge inflatable Santa behind the wheel of a red convertible with a reindeer in the front seat will drive onto your lawn.
The scam: You might order one of these head-turning lawn decorations after spotting a great deal on social media or online. But once the box arrives, you could be looking at a much, much smaller version of what you thought you ordered.
The Better Business Bureau issued a warning that scammers are offering some super-low prices on larger-than-life decorations with incredible lights and other features. In some cases, you might receive nothing at all — not even a lump of coal.
One consumer, according to a national BBB alert, lost $98 to one of these deals on Halloween decorations. Somehow a package was delivered elsewhere, supposedly, to mailbox in a small town in North Carolina. But the consumer noted there's no way the decoration, as advertised, would ever fit in a mailbox. "And the company will not refund until the merchandise is returned," the consumer stated.
Fake texts hide amid holiday hustle and bustle
Cybercriminals continue to text and hide behind a well-known name, like your bank. Many times, those fake texts will blow up your phone during the holidays.
Maybe, it's a text about a missed delivery. Maybe, it's a text that claims to be from your bank and says your account was compromised. Maybe, you just got a text on a fake job opening — just as you're wondering how you'll pay the holiday bills.
When it comes to bank scams, some crooks might try to convince you at some point that you need to transfer money to a so-called "safe account." They might claim to be with the bank or a government agency, but they're only out to steal your savings.
The scammers know that we're all juggling to be jolly. And they're more than willing to bet that one day we'll be so busy that they'll catch us completely off guard.
Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on X (Twitter) @tompor.