Consumer watchdogs say to look out for eclipse ‘scams’

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thousands of tourists will flock to Central Texas for Monday’s once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse for the region, but watchdogs said the stars are also aligning for scams that typically shadow massive events.

Industry experts tell KXAN they are seeing the usual suspects – like fraudulent lodging and travel deals – mixed in with some relatively newer issues, such as false QR codes. And then there’s a particularly unique scheme that could hurt more than your pocketbook: fake eclipse glasses.

This eclipse event has “all the elements” that lead to a spike in misleading schemes, said John Breyault, vice president of public policy, telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League.

“There’s some urgency to it, right?” Breyault said. “It’s a time-limited event, once it’s done, it’s done. So, scammers latch on to that urgency to try and get people to do things that they may not otherwise do, if they took the time to think about it.”

Susanna Kohler, communications manager and press officer with American Astronomical Society, said her organization is particularly concerned about fake eclipse glasses. AAS has recently seen some glasses entering the market from oversees that don’t meet solar viewing benchmarks but are labeled as if they’re made in America and conform to important standards, she said.

“Solar eclipse glasses should be more than 1000-times darker than a pair of sunglasses,” said Kohler. “These cases of fake glasses are concerning because we don’t want people to purchase solar eclipse glasses, think that they’re safe to look at the sun for extended periods of time and then end up damaging their eyes as a result.”

AAS recommends purchasing glasses that meet the requirements of the ISO 12312-2 safety standard. You can read the Associations full recommendations here.

The number one thing you can do to be confident in your glasses is to buy them from a reputable seller, and AAS created a list of trustworthy vendors on its website here.

Breyault also recommended using a trusted seller. He advised being particularly weary “fly by night” websites for glasses that advertise on social media.

Safety check

If someone already bought their glasses and is wondering if they are safe, there are some steps to potentially figure out if they are fake, Kohler said.

“Unfortunately, there’s no way to look at them and know with confidence that they are safe,” Kohler said. “But something you can do is know with confidence that they are not safe.”

If you put them on in your house and can see things, that’s a bad sign, said Kohler.

“You shouldn’t be able to see your house and furnishings, pictures on the wall. If you look directly at a really bright light indoors, you might be able to very faintly see it, but it should be faint,” she said. “If it looks like you’re looking through sunglasses, they’re not safe eclipse glasses, and you should throw them away.”

If they pass the indoor test, step outside and look around. You shouldn’t be able to see anything except the sun’s reflections on things like windows and puddles. If that’s the case, you can test them by briefly looking at the sun.

“You should see a disc that is comfortably bright. It should not make you want to look away,” she said.

It doesn’t stop at fake glasses, though. Breyault and Devin Benavides, director of partnerships and community engagement with the Better Business Bureau, said they are also seeing fraudulent bookings for overnight stays among other concerns.

Trust your gut

“You always want to look out for these too-good-to-be-true deals,” said Benavides. “I always say we have a gut for a reason, and we want to trust our instinct.”

Some may take listings that are legitimate, copying them and advertising them at lower rates to pique interest. People may book a property on Airbnb thinking they got a great deal only to arrive and find it is double booked, non-existent or otherwise unavailable, Benavides said.

Protect yourself by watching for red flags in the payment process. Do not provide payment outside the platform for a rental service, she said. “That’s going to bypass all of those great protection measures that are in place.”

“Watch out for any offer where they want you to pay in an unusual way,” said Breyault. “What I mean is the gift card, or a peer-to-peer transfer, like Zelle or Venmo, or via bank-to-bank transfer. Those are all popular ways that scammers seek to get money.”

A consumer may be able to catch a fake rental posting by doing a reverse image search of pictures in the post to see if they’re used elsewhere, Benavides said.

When you spot something concerning, like a request for payment by gift card, “end the booking right there,” Benavides said.

BBB has also seen people getting tricked with fake QR codes. For example, a fake QR code requesting payment at a parking lot could direct customers to a fraudulent payment center. Fake QR codes on flyers or sent via text could increase risk of identify theft and direct users to a lookalike website that could steal information.

“QR codes are so convenient. They’re so handy, but it’s always better to just type in the web address yourself to avoid being taken victim of a scam,” Benavides said.

Benavides also mentioned fake events. People could fabricate an eclipse viewing event and charge for tickets. A quick way to double check an event is to look at a city or venue’s Facebook page or social media page to see if the event is listed.

If you believe you’ve been you’re a victim of one of these circumstances, you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, here. You can also report it to the Texas Office of Attorney General here. You can also report it to local law enforcement, the National Consumer League’s fraud.org website, or Better Business Bureau.