The holiday shopping season is here, and unfortunately, that also means a few Grinches are lurking, waiting to take advantage of Florida consumers.
To help residents stay safe, Attorney General Ashley Moody and other officials released the 2024 Holiday Consumer Protection Guide on Wednesday.
The guide is expected to provide tips for staying safe from fraud, resources for reporting shady businesses and more.
When shopping online, Moody recommends consumers to be cautious of deals that are too good to be true. Also, make sure to use secure payment methods.
At a news conference Wednesday, Moody stood alongside the sheriff-elect of the Miami-Dade Police Department and the current police director to emphasize the penalties porch pirates face this holiday season. She says $12 billion in packages was stolen in 2023 alone.
“It’s now a third-degree felony if you take something from a porch if it’s over a certain amount, and that’s a very serious thing,” Moody said. “If you are watching and thinking of taking packages that folks are trying to buy for their family and friends to celebrate the holiday season and you think you are going to steal those, it will be a felony.”
The state is also keeping a close eye on fake charities. It’s important to verify the authenticity of organizations on websites like charitynavigator.org.
“We oftentimes see these organizations modify a name ever so slightly to match a legitimate charitable organization, and that will sometimes trick people into going online and making donations,” Moody said.