PHOENIX — With shopping in full swing, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell is warning consumers of fake holiday sales.

“When something that costs $20 to $25 in the store is on sale for $5, you might want to avoid it,” Mitchell said. KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona Morning News on monday.

She says such discounts are a red flag that the item you’re buying has been stolen.

“You’re contributing to a criminal activity, not just the theft, but what that money ends up being used for, whether it’s drug trafficking or human trafficking,” Mitchell said. spoke.

Mitchell’s office has launched a new service to help shoppers in metro Phoenix avoid expensive purchases. holiday shopping campaignwe share tips that consumers can use to avoid criminal enterprises.

This is a continuation of a similar campaign she first launched in 2023.

Falling for fake holiday sales could help criminals, she says

Not only that, but as Christmas approaches, old scams are popping up like weeds.

“We’re seeing a resurgence of gift card fraud,” Mitchell said. “You don’t want to send your grandchild a gift card and then get a phone call saying there’s nothing.”

Scammers who pull the rug out from under gift givers this way record the number of gift cards in the store. That way, when someone buys a card, fraudsters run that number and steal their money.

“Retailers are trying to cover some of that, but they’re losing a lot of money doing so,” Mitchell said.

This is just one of many scams swirling around the Valley. In addition to gift card falsification, Prosecutors also warn consumers Regarding credit card skimming. In this method, criminals place devices at ATMs and fuel pumps to steal shoppers’ credit card information.

How Arizona shoppers can avoid fake holiday sales in 2024

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office warned shoppers to be wary of online sales of items that are often stolen for illegal resale, including cosmetics, power tools and household goods.

Additionally, shoppers should never pay in advance for items they haven’t yet received.

Other red flags of stolen goods include new products being sold at low prices, large numbers of new products being sold, and sellers selling in unusual locations such as the back of a truck, warehouse, or home. For example, if you are distributing products from.