Quick Answer
Holiday cyber scams increase during peak shopping seasons as criminals exploit rushed purchases, online deliveries, and digital payments. Federal agencies warn that phishing emails, fake online stores, and delivery scams spike during the holidays, making awareness and proactive security habits essential for protecting personal and financial information.
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Holiday cyber scams surge each year as cybercriminals take advantage of increased online shopping, digital payments, and seasonal distractions. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, scammers commonly use phishing emails, fake delivery notices, fraudulent websites, and impersonation tactics to steal personal and financial information during the holidays. Data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and the Federal Trade Commission shows that online shopping fraud and payment-related scams consistently spike between November and January. With more transactions happening quickly and across multiple devices, even cautious consumers can become vulnerable without proper awareness and safeguards in place.
Holiday Cyber Scams
Online Shopping
Are you shopping online instead of throwing yourself into the middle of those potentially aggressive crowds at brick-and-mortar stores? You’re not alone. According to SpendMeNot.com, nearly half of Black Friday sales were conducted online, with billions of shoppers buying through their mobile phones, making it a tempting lucrative market for cybercriminals. But online shopping comes with the danger of malicious mobile apps. If you decide to download an app to start searching for discount codes or to track prices, you could be putting yourself at risk. Here are some recent stats according to SonicWall Capture Labs about Black Friday and Cyber Monday:
- phishing attacks have doubled
- ransomware attacks and malware attacks combined are skyrocketing
- hundreds of millions malware attacks
One notable app cited Amazon shopping hacks, which by all means sounded like a great way to get the best deals on Amazon before anyone else. But the app mined private user info including credit card details and contact information, so it’s best to forgo any apps you haven’t previously used successfully and without incident.
Know You Are Being Targeted
Protecting yourself from cybercriminals during the holiday season needs to be top-of-mind awareness because these fraudsters are targeting you. How? Through banner and/or pop-up ads, fake emails with attachments, and social media posts linking you to scrupulous but seemingly normal websites. Just knowing that this can occur, will hopefully give you pause before clicking that ad. If something pops up that interests you, take note of the details and then go to the official retailer site without clicking on anything from a potentially malicious ad. Don’t be lured in – if there’s a tempting deal that seems too good to be true, especially one that offers something free or there’s an urgent call for action, beware and do your due diligence to vet the website before making any purchases, including looking for the HTTPS padlock icon to ensure any transaction you’re about to make will be secure.
Use Your Credit Card
Protecting yourself from cybercriminals during the holiday season can be as easy as paying by credit card as they come with federally mandated consumer protection policies. If you receive a defective product or have a dispute you can’t resolve on your own, you can then take the dispute to your credit card company who will act on your behalf. Plus, there’s a zero liability policy for unauthorized transactions, and many credit card companies use AI to monitor your card for any suspicious activity, to which you’ll then be alerted immediately by text or method of your choice. A bonus of using your credit card is an extended warranty which typically adds up to one year of extra coverage for eligible purchases.
And Better Yet? Use a Virtual Credit Card
What’s a virtual credit card? It’s essentially a temporary credit card number supplied by your credit card number that’s used to hide your actual card number. You can use it as you normally would when shopping online, but the retailers never see your true credit card number so in the event the website is somehow fraudulent, your credit card number is still safe. How do you get a virtual credit card number? You can obtain one through your credit card website or call your customer service line for more information. You may also be able to get a virtual number for your debit card, depending on your bank.
Don’t Use Your Debit Card
There are probably very few scenarios where many of us don’t use our debit cards, but protecting yourself from cybercriminals during the holiday season can be as easy as not using it. Why? Because funds are taken immediately from your bank account, and if any fraudulent activity occurs and your card is compromised, it could take time before the issue is resolved and in the meantime, you’ll be out that cash. And if you decide to pay with cash, just remember you won’t have the consumer protection as offered by using a credit card, especially when it comes to big-ticket items that could still cost a lot even during holiday sales.
GooglePay and ApplePay Are Both Great Options
Once you’ve got your digital wallet set up on your phone, ApplePay and GooglePay will then generate random account numbers, also known as tokens, that hide your actual credit card number when making purchases. You can use these highly-rated services both online and in-store.
Monitor Your Bank Account Statements
We all just want to enjoy the holidays, and truly, many of us may never check our bank account statements regularly as it is, unless we find there’s something really out of the ordinary. Protecting yourself from cybercriminals during the holiday season includes being aware of suspicious transactions on your debit and/or credit card, and regularly checking statements to ensure nothing nefarious is going on. And it doesn’t necessarily mean some big charge going through on your account, it could be a smaller amount that you may not even think twice about, but this small amount could signal that a criminal who has stolen your credit card info and made a duplicate card is testing your number to see if it works. According to Somerville Bank, “If it works, they then make larger purchases to get items they can sell or keep for themselves. Some of these criminals have learned that banks and other card issuers don’t investigate unreported charges if they are under $50 so they make a lot of smaller charges on items they can sell quickly.” The Federal Trade Commission noted a set of criminals made off with nearly $10 million by using debit and credit cards by charging $10 or less per transaction.
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FAQ
What Are Holiday Cyber Scams
Holiday cyber scams are online fraud schemes that target consumers during peak shopping seasons. These scams often involve phishing emails, fake online retailers, fraudulent delivery notifications, bogus charities, and impersonation attempts designed to steal money or personal data.
Why Do Cybercriminals Target The Holiday Season
Cybercriminals exploit the increased volume of online purchases, time pressure, and distracted consumers during the holidays. Higher transaction activity makes fraudulent charges and fake communications easier to hide.
What Are The Most Common Holiday Cyber Scams
Common holiday cyber scams include phishing emails posing as retailers or shipping companies, fake online storefronts offering deep discounts, non-delivery scams, compromised gift card requests, and malicious links shared through email or social media.
How Can Consumers Protect Themselves From Holiday Cyber Scams
Consumers can reduce risk by shopping only on reputable websites, avoiding unsolicited links, verifying sender addresses, using strong and unique passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, and monitoring financial statements regularly.
Is Online Shopping Safe During The Holidays
Online shopping can be safe when basic cybersecurity practices are followed. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recommends using secure networks, keeping devices updated, and avoiding public Wi-Fi for financial transactions.
Are Credit Cards Safer Than Debit Cards For Holiday Purchases
Credit cards typically offer stronger fraud protections and easier dispute processes than debit cards, which are directly linked to bank accounts and may take longer to recover funds after unauthorized transactions.
What Are Warning Signs Of A Cyber Scam
Urgent messages, unexpected delivery notices, requests for personal or financial information, misspelled URLs, and deals that seem too good to be true are common indicators of cyber scams.
What Should I Do If I Fall Victim To A Holiday Cyber Scam
Victims should immediately contact their financial institution, change compromised passwords, report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, and file a report with the Federal Trade Commission.