Protect Yourself From These Popular Holiday Scams

While scammers are active throughout the year, the holiday season is an especially lucrative time for online thieves. With more and more people taking to online shopping and deciding to skip the long lines at retail stores, it’s no surprise that in just 2022, the Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded losses of $281 million from non-delivery/non-payment scams and $264 million due to credit card fraud. Keep scammers at bay and learn what you can do to protect yourself while shopping for loved ones. 

Scammers know you’ll be checking your email for special holiday offers and shipping confirmations so that’s usually where they’ll look to attack. Scammers will often pose as reputable businesses in order to get you to provide them with your personal information. Unless you can verify that the email or text message is legitimate, don’t click on any links. 

Always look at the sender’s address and look to see if it matches with the name of the business you’ve engaged with. You can also use your mouse to hover over a link and verify its actual destination. Oftentimes scammers disguise links as reputable sites. Most browsers display the actual address on the bottom left side of the screen when you hover over a link. If you see a mismatch in the sender’s address or link destination, delete the email. 

While some see the holiday season as a time to give, others may look to capitalize off the goodwill of others for personal gain. From phone calls to social media, scammers will use various communication channels to contact you and persuade you to provide information under the guise of a reputable charitable organization or cause. Don’t let scammers discourage you from giving this holiday season and instead research and verify any organization using Give.org and give to the organization’s official website directly.

It’s been said before but it bears repeating, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Scammers will use special holiday offers to lure in their unsuspecting victims, oftentimes promising everything from a free phone to a free vacation. Once the victim clicks on the link, the user is then sent to a fake website where the scammers will request the “winners” to pay for shipping or other fees associated with the prize using gift cards. Be wary of any offer that feels like it’s promising more than what’s normally expected and look for the “https” in the address bar to be sure you’re on a secure site once you’ve verified any offer.  

If package theft hasn’t happened to you, it’s probably happened to someone you know. According to a recent survey by Finder, over 35 million Americans report having a package stolen from them within the last year. To help combat package theft, utilize tracking services like informed Delivery by USPS which will allow you to digitally preview your mail and manage packages so you can reschedule a delivery if you’re not home. If you’re using Amazon to send gifts, use Amazon Lockers instead of delivering the package directly to an unsecured porch or patio. 

Job seekers looking to take on some seasonal or part-time work during the holidays can also be victims of fraud. Popular job scams include posing as mystery holiday shopper opportunities oftentimes presenting fake checks in order to convince the seeker to provide financial information in order to claim the job and “compensation.” Remember, legitimate job opportunities will not require you to pay anything, they pay you. Always apply on the official company website to help you avoid falling into any job scam trap. 

Because a lot of personal information can be accessed online via social media channels and more, it’s possible a scammer can know your basics like name, phone number, and who your friends and family are. Scammers can then use this information to target vulnerable victims like senior citizens and impersonate a close friend or family member and then request money for an urgent situation. If you suspect someone is impersonating someone you know in an attempt to collect money or information, hang up and contact the person in question directly or someone within your close circle to confirm the call. 

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