More scammers are targeting online shoppers. Here's how you can protect yourself

ATLANTA — State leaders are working harder to keep your hard-earned money out of the hands of scammers this holiday season.

Americans are expected to spend hundreds of billions of dollars over the next month and that’s just on the internet.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Justin Gray spoke with Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr whose office has seen a rise in schemes targeting online shopping.

The message from Carr is a simple one: As the emails roll in this week, slow down and take a second before you click.

“You got to be careful,” he said.

Some messages could be people trying to take advantage, even masquerading as major retailers.

“One of the things we would say is go to the website itself. It’s great to get that email, get that reminder but the best thing you can do is go to that website. Making sure that you’re in charge of your transaction,” Carr said.

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This year, it’s estimated that online holiday spending will surpass $140 billion. Consumers will spend more than $9 billion online on Cyber Monday alone.

All that money makes online shoppers a target for criminals. Some Macy’s shoppers got a letter last month warning them about an attack.

Sophisticated intruders targeted Macy’s online shoppers to secretly collect addresses, emails, names, credit card numbers and other personal information.

Carr said it’s an important time to monitor your identity and spot check your accounts to make sure there is no strange activity.

“It’s incredibly frustrating that somebody would want to take the holidays and turn it into an opportunity to take advantage of someone. But we’re seeing that more and more.”

Carr also recommends not making any purchases on your phone on public Wi-Fi.

Cox Media Group