Kid Gets a PS4 for Christmas. Finds a Block of Wood Inside Instead

Imagine the excitement of opening a gift and finding it’s something you wanted. Now think about how crushed you’d feel when the gift wasn’t in the box.

That’s exactly what happened to a little boy in Massachusetts this Christmas, reports WFXT. Nine-year-old Scott Lundy thought he received a PS4, but found a wooden decoy instead. What began as “the best Christmas ever” ended with Scott crying, his family told WFXT.

As unlikely as it sounds, this sort of thing isn’t uncommon. Scammers have been known to swap out gadgets with wood or other similarly weighted items before selling the boxes online or in parking lots. In another variant, someone buys the item from a retailer, removes the packaging and replaces it with something of a similar weight. They return the box to the store, hoping an employee will give a refund without peeking inside. Worse still, the box could be restocked, and it’s hard to get your money back after the scam. Retailers may think you’re trying to get something for free and refuse to let you trade in the decoy.

The Lundy family successfully exchanged the wooden decoy for a real PS4, plus a $100 gift card and game from the retailer. But their story is a good reminder to inspect items for signs of tampering before buying them.

Fraudsters can be pretty creative this time of year, especially when people are spending more than usual and rushing to get things done. Don’t let the chaos interfere with common sense: You should keep tabs on your credit card and debit card accounts, as well as your credit standing (you can check for signs of fraud by pulling your credit reports for free each year at AnnualCreditReport.com and viewing your free credit scores every month on Credit.com). Finally, do your best to make thoughtful spending decisions.