By — Ali Rogin Ali Rogin By — Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert By — Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/shopping-for-holiday-gifts-online-here-are-tips-for-avoiding-scams Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio With the gift-giving season just around the corner, shoppers looking for good deals are getting savvier — but so are holiday scammers. Last year, scams involving items that were either counterfeit or never delivered cost people more than $700 million. Ali Rogin speaks with Alissa Abdullah, deputy chief security officer for Mastercard, to learn more. Listen to this Segment Watch Watch the Full Episode PBS NewsHour from Dec 07, 2025 By — Ali Rogin Ali Rogin Ali Rogin is a correspondent for the PBS News Hour and PBS News Weekend, reporting on a number of topics including foreign affairs, health care and arts and culture. She received a Peabody Award in 2021 for her work on News Hour’s series on the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect worldwide. Rogin is also the recipient of two Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association and has been a part of several teams nominated for an Emmy, including for her work covering the fall of ISIS in 2020, the Las Vegas mass shooting in 2017, the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2014, and the 2010 midterm elections. By — Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert is a production assistant for PBS News Weekend. By — Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara is an associate producer for PBS News Weekend.