The holiday season is approaching, which means that scammers swiftly activate their weapons to terrorize innocent individuals with constant scams. During holidays, people become more vulnerable due to the desire to get everything done and the excitement of the upcoming magic, and scammers know how to take advantage of that.
According to Forbes, in 2023, 80% of American consumers became victims of at least one holiday scam. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, in turn, reported 13,000 cases of scams involving non-delivery and non-payment during the 2023 holiday season, which resulted in $92 million in losses.
Don’t let scams ruin the holidays by learning how to protect yourself. For this, you need to familiarize yourself with the most common fraudulent schemes during the festive season, their signs, and what you can do to prevent them.
4 Most Common Holiday Season Scams
- Gift Card Scams
Christmas is the most anticipated time of the year. Everyone is willing to buy presents for their friends and family, and gift cards are some of the go-to choices.
Fraudsters advertise discounted gift cards on websites, social media, forums, or online marketplaces for very low prices that are way below what official stores offer to attract more people. Of course, when someone orders their gift card, the payment is required in advance. When the payment is received, the scammer fades away.
Con artists may also reach out to you claiming you’ve won a free gift card and ask for your personal information, such as your credit card details, login credentials, or address. This usually happens via email or on social media.
What to do: Always carefully research the person or store selling you gift cards. Pay attention to red flags, especially any demands for personal information and untraceable payment methods. If the gift card for a high-end product is cheap, it’s a sign to stay away and look elsewhere to save your money. For instance, paying $200 for a gift card that can get you a product that costs $800 on an official website will most likely leave you without any deliveries.
- Phishing
Phishing is a prevalent concern all year round. However, it especially activates during the holidays, as more people can fall victim to it. But what is phishing exactly? It’s a type of cybercrime where attackers deceive individuals into revealing sensitive information.
There are several types of phishing: email phishing, smishing, vishing, spear phishing, and clone phishing. The first one is the most common during Christmas time, as people are more likely to click on a link in an email without verifying who it came from and what the link may contain.
Once the person clicks on a link, they’re redirected to a fake website designed to steal personal details or install malware. Of course, this isn’t something you want to deal with before Christmas—or ever—which makes it essential to know how to safeguard yourself.
What to do: Every time you receive a suspicious email with a link or links or calls or messages from unknown individuals asking you to perform certain actions, such as clicking on a link or revealing your personal info, carefully think twice before doing anything.
Hover over links to see the URL before clicking, and don’t download any attachments from an email. Pay attention to any red flags, such as urgency, misspelled email address, generic greetings (e.g., “Dear Customer” or “Valued User”), too good to be true offers, and poor grammar, among other things.
- Fake Charities
Charity scams become increasingly popular during the holidays, as more people are willing to donate to those who have little or nothing during the festive season. Not everyone, unfortunately, realizes that fake charitable organizations are more sophisticated during this time than ever. In fact, 20% of individuals said to be making more donations during the holidays than the rest of the year.
In this case, there are two victims, compared to other scams, where the victim is usually the person who falls for a scam. Real charities, who could have received the funds if it wasn’t for a scam, are also affected. Instead of helping individuals with difficult life situations, the donated money goes to scammers’ pockets.
What to do: Always verify a charitable organization before making any donations by checking for official registration with the appropriate authorities (e.g., the IRS) and looking for certification from a recognized charity watchdog, such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or GuideStar.
Note that real charities never force individuals to donate. Instead, the whole process is voluntary and transparent. Fake charitable organizations, on the other hand, use guilt-trip appeals, misleading stories, exaggerations, and other high-pressure tactics.
- Travel Scams
As people are planning vacations and family visits during the holiday season, travel scams become more prevalent. Scammers take advantage of the high demand for travel deals and create fake vacation packages and airline tickets, phone travel insurance, bogus accommodations, and fake travel contests, among others.
When people are unaware of how travel scams work, it’s easy to fall for them, losing hard-earned money or personal information.
It’s even scarier to come to another state or country only to realize that the accommodation you booked doesn’t exist or isn’t available for rent. And travel fraud is all about that—taking the money and not providing the services promised.
What to do: When traveling, always make sure to use reputable travel agencies and websites for booking flights and accommodations. Pay special attention to cheap offers, as those usually signal that you’re most likely dealing with fraud.
Never provide any personal information to a travel website unless you’re one hundred percent sure it’s legitimate. If you do, you may become a victim of identity theft, a form of fraud that can have serious consequences.
In general, it’s important to be vigilant when booking flights and accommodations to prevent unpleasant situations.
Summing Up
Holidays aren’t always about magic, enjoyment, and quality time with friends with family. In some cases, when one isn’t careful enough, the anticipated Christmas time can turn into a nightmare, all thanks to holiday scams.
Gift card scams, phishing, fake charities, and travel fraud are some of the most common fraudulent schemes anyone can fall victim to. To prevent this, it’s necessary to know the signs and what to do in case someone reaches out to you with suspicious offers.