Egg prices are still rising in the Hudson Valley, and local scammers are taking notice.

New York isn't the only place struggling with surging prices. We're also not the only ones witnessing the increased criminal activity around the ballooning costs. While we're not seeing eggs being smuggled over the Mexican border like in California, the Hudson Valley is falling victim to a scam from someone posing as a local farmer.

Egg Selling Scam in Beacon, NY

"Apparently I fell for the 'buying farm fresh eggs' scam", said a recent Facebook post from a Beacon, NY resident. "Fortunately I only lost $12". The scam they were referring to originated from a Facebook account that was posting in local Hudson Valley community pages advertising affordable "farm-fresh" eggs to families struggling with the the high cost of our favorite breakfast staple. Some internet sleuthing uncovered more disturbing information.

ipuwadol/frender via Canva
ipuwadol/frender via Canva
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Scams on Local Hudson Valley, NY Facebook Pages

"I looked up the name on the Zelle charge and found it linked to a deceased person on FB - maybe it's a coincidence, but my feeling is this could be a stolen identity" the scam victim shared. "I reported it to [the Internet Crime Complaint Center] (IC3), they continued. There are several tell-tale signs of a scam like this to watch out for.

Ton Photographer 4289 via Canva
Ton Photographer 4289 via Canva
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Avoiding Internet Scams

Like with any internet transaction, businesses or individuals who ask for money up-front without providing goods or services should immediately raise a red flag. As one commenter said, "If they required payment up from for a pick up item, Run, don't walk away". If the post is in a local community page, it can also be helpful to check on the past engagement by the person or profile. If this is their first post, your Spidey-senses should start tingling.

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Scams like this aren't limited to low-stakes produce. Stay on top of your internet (and bank account) safety below, and keep scrolling to check out the most popular scams of 2023 and how to spot them.

Expert Tips for Avoiding Online Shopping Scams

In order to avoid a scammer getting the better of you, check out the following red flags to look out for as well as preventative measures to take from Dr. Skiba, AKA Dr. Fraud himself:

LOOK: The biggest scams today and how you can protect yourself from them

Using data from the BBB Scam Tracker Annual Risk Report, Stacker identified the most common and costly types of scams in 2022.

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