KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The holiday season is here and you will need to keep your eye out for "Secret Sister" gift exchanges.
The Better Business Bureau says the exchange is an illegal pyramid scheme. It all starts with an email or social media invitation.
From there, people will buy and mail a gift to a stranger. In return, the sender is supposed to get a certain number of gifts. But sometimes, this falls through.
The scam relies on recruiting people to keep it alive. If people stop participating in the gift exchange, the gift supply stops, leaving many without their promised packages.
The Better Business Bureau has recommendations to make sure you do not lose any money:
- Ignore the "Secret Sister" invitations.
- Report any social media invitations if you receive them.
- Never give out your personal information to strangers and be wary of false claims.
