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The holiday deals have already begun, but buyer beware – not all of those great deals you see online are legit. Because if the online shopping season has started it means that the online scam season has officially begun too.

AARP officials offer two simple steps you can take to stay a step ahead of the online grinch this holiday shopping season.

Type – don’t click. The safest place to shop online is with retailers you trust by using their app or typing their web address into your browser rather than clicking on a link from a text, email or online ad. Also, know that unbelievable deal a social media contact messages you about is truly not to be believed. Fraud criminals are experts at hacking social media accounts and one of the first things they do is send out fake offers to a victim’s friends and family.