Beware: 6 Scams From Bad Santa's Bag Of Tricks

The holiday season is a joyful time. A time for family, friends, celebrations, gifts. And unfortunately, it's also a time for scams.

Now that the holidays season has officially arrived, police and consumer watchdogs warn people to beware of scams and deceptive advertising while shopping at stores or online this year. Here are a few tips to avoid getting fleeced by a Bad Santa.

The Bait and Switch: Take retailers' advertisements to the store with you. Unscrupulous retailers may advertise goods at low prices, but when you get to the store the price may be higher than advertised or the product might not be there at all.

Skimming Devices: During the holidays last year, police were called to a retailer at the King of Prussia mall to remove a skimming device from one store's register. Skimming devices are also placed on gas pumps or ATMs to capture data from the magnetic stripe on the back of credit and debit cards. If something looks out of place or easily wiggles, use a different ATM, gas pump or register. Click here to learn more about how to recognize a skimming device.

"Cybersquatting" Sites: Crooks try to impersonate well-known websites by inverting characters or slightly altering the name of a well-known website. The copycat sites may look similar to the real website – and they can steal your credit information. Carefully read website addresses to ensure you are shopping on a legitimate website.

Copycat and Fraudulent Websites: Fake websites set up by scammers target online shoppers during the holiday season. Sometimes appearing as ad results in online searches, these sites may contain malware or steal inputted credit card data. Avoid making purchases from untrustworthy sites.

Security Certificates: To ensure you are shopping on a secure website, make sure the website begins with "https" and has a small padlock icon next to the webpage address. Keep your computer, tablet or smartphone up-to-date and install security software.

Retailers Who Request Payment through Wire Transfer: Legitimate online businesses will not use wire transfer to collect payment for purchases. This is a sure sign of a scam.

Watch Now: 6 Scams To Watch Out For This Holiday Season

Image by Shutterstock//Information for this story was reported by Patch editor Kara Seymour