BBB warns of holiday scams

With the holiday season comes holiday shopping -- and holiday scams.

Many consumers see their shopping lists grow this time of year but checking it twice could keep you from becoming a victim of scammers.

Kristi Pena, with the Better Business Bureau, said they see scams pick up around the holidays, about the same time consumers start doling out more cash.

"The top scam would absolutely be identity theft -- handing a credit card over to a clerk and then they're writing down this information," Pena said.

Skimming is also a popular scam this time of year and the third most common is simply overcharging customers and pocketing the extra cash.

While identity theft is harder to prevent, preventing overcharging is simple.

"Make sure you're looking at your receipt as you're there at the counter," Pena said.

One thing you can do to protect yourself when you're checking out is hit credit instead of debit.

Credit cards have insurance -- a debit card does not.