Emails about holiday packages you shipped may be from a scammer

BALTIMORE - If you took advantage of “Free Shipping Day” last Friday, boxes are headed to your door any day now.  And scammers will use that to their advantage, sending package-related emails they hope are the key to your personal information.

The boxes and bags have been scanned and loaded.  Now millions of packages are headed to homes across the nation, giving scammers yet another opportunity to ruin your holiday.

The con artists don't want your gifts; they want something else that keeps giving, your personal information.  They use shipping scams to get it.

According to the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland, there's been an uptick in those phishing scams, which get carried out through email.  The scammers send messages saying your package has been shipped.

Those emails contain links and if you click them, you could end up with a virus or get directed to a website that steals your information.  That's why the BBB says you should never click links sent from an unknown source or even a source that appears legitimate.  Instead, the BBB advises holding onto the original purchase details for any online orders and using that information to independently track and verify shipments.