Peak shipping season is here, and con-artists are capitalizing on it.

(KLFY)-- Peak shipping season is here, and con-artists are capitalizing on it.

A new scam reported to the Better Business Bureau involves phony e-commerce websites that hit shoppers with a bill for discreet shipping. This extra fee allegedly pays for special packaging or stamps, but it's a trick to get online shopping scam victims to hand over more money. Here's how to recognize the signs of this scam.

"Scammers are always trying to find out the next way to take advantage of those shoppers online and what we've been seeing are these fake shipping fees that you're getting contacted after the fact saying that you have to pay this additional shipping fee,” Chris Babin of Better Business Bureau Serving Acadiana said. “Maybe it was mislabeled when you first ordered but you have to pay more in order to actually receive your package."

You order something online and pay for the product and shipping. Before the item can be delivered, the vendor contacts you. They claim you must pay an extra fee for discreet shipping.

“What we've seen are these discreet shipping fees where they're going to package the product especially for you and they're not going to let you label what the product is,” Babin said. “We see this a lot more often with diet pills or maybe some kind of ammunition or CBD products you're ordering and they're charging you extra to package the product discreetly and in some instances, it turns out it's a scam."

The discreet shipping fees that scammers request can be more than normal and in some instances multiple fees ranging from $20 to $100.

"Sometimes the payment can be the red flag itself,” Babin said. “Any of those consumer to consumer apps, Zelle, PayPal, any of those things that you're paying directly to them, a lot of times, if that's the only way the business is allowing you to pay, that should be a red flag that you should look into whether or not it's legitimate."

Here's how you can avoid shipping scams:

• Buy from reputable shops. If you purchase something online, research before giving the vendor your full trust.
• Understand how different payment methods work. For example, you may be able to contest fraudulent charges on your credit card, but money sent through digital payment apps work more like cash. Once you've sent the funds for good, they are gone.
• Check the seller's reviews and ratings. When reading reviews, look for positive or negative trends and note how the company responds.
• And lastly, check for a secure website. Look for the https u-r-l structure in the company's web address and the padlock symbol in the address bar. This means you have a secure connection.

If you have a scam you'd like News 10 to investigate, send an email to smasters@klfy.com.