‘Tis the season for joy, but beware of holiday scams! According to a 2023 AARP Fraud Watch Network™ report, around 80% of U.S. consumers face holiday-related fraud. Cybercrooks exploit festive cheer with fake charities, online shopping scams, and deceptive shipping notifications. These scams intensify during seasonal spending sprees, focusing on online shopping.
Bogus websites and social media impersonations of major brands lure unsuspecting shoppers into spending money on non-existent products. Beyond financial loss, these schemes often lead to identity theft via harvested personal data. Stay vigilant against malware-laden links and fake offers to protect your holiday cheer.
Top 4 Seasonal Scams and Ways to Avoid Them
Amidst the festive shopping frenzy, scammers intensify efforts to exploit increased spending. Here are some of the most prevalent seasonal scams and the ways to avoid them.
A “Complimentary” Christmas Gift
The holiday season prompts both brands and influencers to organize online giveaways, creating a fun way to engage customers. However, amidst the festive cheer, caution is essential. Beware of fake giveaways, particularly Christmas hampers, circulating on social media, emails, or texts.
According to CyberGhost’s blog post, scammers entice with promises of free wine and chocolates but demand personal information for the supposed claim, leading to potential identity theft. Worse, some ask for payment details under the guise of covering delivery fees, providing cybercriminals an avenue for unauthorized transactions after the holidays.
Fraudulent Product Campaigns on Social Platforms
Beware of holiday scammers on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, promoting fake stores with enticing ads for personalized items. The Better Business Bureau warns that these ads may lead to receiving counterfeit products or worse, falling victim to identity or monetary theft.
Watch out for red flags, such as suspicious online stores lacking contact information, low-follower-count accounts, and deals that seem too good to be true. Don’t trust a site just because it’s on social media—always scrutinize for signs of scams and be cautious before making purchases.
Fake Charities
As the holiday season fosters generosity, scammers exploit kindness through social engineering, manipulating emotions to extract personal or financial information. So, beware of dubious funding pages or social media pleas for donations. AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard enhance scams’ credibility, proficiently mimicking human emotion and crafting convincing narratives.
While authentic stories exist, exercise caution with emotionally charged social media posts, as phishers aim to prompt impulsive actions. AI’s grammatical prowess and typo-free content contribute to the sophistication of these deceitful schemes, marking a departure from traditional phishing indicators.
Misleading Offers for Seasonal Employment
Job scams surge during the holiday season, targeting those seeking quick earnings. Fraudsters exploit the desire for extra income, luring victims with fake job listings promising substantial pay for minimal effort. Typically, they extract personal information during a dubious “hiring process” or coerce money for alleged “supplies and training.” Warning signs include rapid, minimal-process hires, immediate requests for sensitive details (SSN, bank info), and schemes involving cashing a check and returning excess funds. Protect yourself by researching companies on platforms like Glassdoor and refraining from sharing sensitive data until the legitimacy of the job and employer is confirmed.
How To Protect Yourself From Seasonal Scams?
To safeguard your holiday cheer from potential grinches, employ the following tactics.
- First, cloak your digital presence with a VPN, rendering cyber snooping nearly futile, especially when on public Wi-Fi.
- Additionally, fortify your defenses by perpetually locking your credit, preventing any unauthorized attempts to open new lines in your name.
- When navigating the digital marketplace, exercise caution: adhere to reputable websites and recognized brands. Don’t be lured by flashy ads; scrutinize links before clicking, checking for suspicious redirects or typos. Although “https” doesn’t guarantee security, it’s a positive sign. If a deal appears too good, resist the temptation, as jeopardizing your device, identity, or online privacy outweighs any financial gain.
- Protect your online presence: Create robust, unique passwords for each account, and activate two-factor authentication (2FA) whenever possible.
- Beware of holiday phone scams (“vishing”)—never trust unsolicited calls; verify by calling back official numbers.
- Stay vigilant with your bank statements, monitoring regularly for any unusual transactions during the festive season.
- Conduct thorough research when approached for charity donations, especially online or by strangers. Take time to reflect before contributing and delve into the cause’s background. Legitimate organizations possess a website, accreditation, and transparency about fund utilization. Exercise caution if requested to donate via wire transfers or gift cards.
- In-store shoppers should be wary of card-skimming devices on ATMs or card readers. Skimming fraud costs over $1 billion annually, with scammers attaching discreet skimmers to copy card information. Even EMV-chipped cards can be vulnerable. Opt for secure methods like cash or contactless payments for enhanced safety.
