Don't allow yourself to fall victim to the unscrupulous PlayStation 3 sellers this holiday, Sony has warned. More and more consumers have gotten scammed at new console launches, so Sony is trying to raise consumer awareness.

It's become increasingly common with new console launches for some consumers to buy up whole batches of a system, only to sell them immediately on sites like eBay for major profits. Beyond that, however, there are certain even more seedy individuals out there who unfortunately will do anything they can to scam you out of your money completely. They know that some consumers get desperate when it comes to purchasing a newly launched console and they'll do anything they can to exploit that.

It's not unheard of during a new console launch for some people to get scammed by being sent an empty box or even nothing at all. Sony is aware that these kind of Internet scams are on the rise, so they've issued a statement to GameDaily BIZ and other press outlets that advises customers to steer clear of any suspicious/unauthorized PlayStation 3 offers.

"It has come to the attention of Sony Computer Entertainment America that a number of websites are currently promoting pre-order offers on discounted or bulk shipments of the upcoming PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system," reads the statement.

"Such offers are not done with any cooperation from SCEA or its parent company. SCEA strongly recommends against consumers pursuing such offers, as their legitimacy cannot be confirmed. We recommend consumers purchase PlayStation products only from authorized SCEA retailers and resellers."

With the PS3 being in such short supply on launch day (just 400,000 units on day one), the potential for Internet scams is probably even higher. Naturally, the best bet is to purchase the console at a reputable retailer such as Best Buy, GameStop, etc.

The PS3 officially launches on November 17 in North America. Sony maintains that it will meet its worldwide shipment target of 2 million PS3s by the end of this year and 6 million by the end of next March.