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Buyers beware when doing holiday shopping online

FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. — After Black Friday comes Cyber Monday, where millions of shoppers take to the internet and load up their digital baskets. With that comes increased risk for fraud and stolen information.

Trudy Russell thought she was getting a great deal, but was wrong.

“I was so excited because I got a 50-inch TV last night. I got a followup email from Walmart saying 'your order has been canceled,' because the website had some kind of an issue and the pricing was wrong,” she explained.

The list price for the TV: $99 -- a whopping $1,100 cheaper than the original price. When she called Walmart customer service, they blamed the error on an outside company called OJ Commerce LLC.

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We tried calling to get answers, but kept getting a busy signal.

Sandeep Reddivari, assistant professor at the University of North Florida’s School of Computing, suggests installing ad blockers on your computers and mobile devices, verifying "http://" is listed before each web link, and don’t click on any advertising boxes, ever!

As for Russell, she was told she would get a refund for the TV, but hasn't yet. In the meantime, she says she'll be more careful about shopping from home.

“I’m going to be very cautious. Very cautious. Because it's scary."

Consumer experts say online sales for Cyber Monday are expected to reach more than $3 billion -- with more than 85 percent of shoppers buying on their smartphones.

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