Holiday shopping at mall in Santa Anita, California. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Holiday shopping at mall in Santa Anita, California. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

With just a few shopping days until Christmas, millions of people are pulling out credit cards for those last minute purchases.

The National Retail Federation predicts that holiday sales could be up by two and a half to three and a half percent from last year.

But the seasonal shopping frenzy also brings more opportunity for financial and identity thieves that want to separate you from your money.

NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly talks with Kelly Richmond Pope, a professor of forensic accounting at DePaul University in Chicago who researches fraud and white collar crime.

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This episode was produced by Connor Donevan, Thomas Danielian and Clare Marie Schneider.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.