# Scam Special: How to Avoid Christmas Shopping Fraud this Year
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2022-12-29
Category: BUSINESS
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/business
Meta Title: Top Holiday Scams: Stay Vigilant Against Phishing, Account Takeover!
Meta Description: Stay vigilant this festive season to avoid falling victim to holiday scams like phishing, account takeovers, and promotion abuse. Learn how to protect yourself
URL: https://financedigest.com/scam-special-how-to-avoid-christmas-shopping-fraud-this-yearhtml

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_![Iain Swaine, Head of Cyber Strategy EMEA, BioCatch](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/727-1736814662884-compressed.jpg)_

_By **Iain Swaine,** Head of Cyber Strategy EMEA, BioCatch_

The festive season is here. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday having passed, it’s time for Christmas shopping to continue. Seasonal workers are being [hired by businesses](https://www.financedigest.com/reasons-why-you-should-hire-a-business-broker-to-sell-your-business.html "Reasons Why You Should Hire a Business Broker to Sell Your Business"), shelves are being filled, wish lists are being created, and cybercriminals are assembling their strategies.

Wherever money is being spent, cybercriminals are sure to show up. That’s why you [need to be on the lookout for shady offers](https://www.financedigest.com/why-the-banking-industry-needs-to-offer-more-than-just-enticing-perks-and-subscription-services.html "Why the banking industry needs to offer more than just enticing perks and subscription services"), strange emails or texts, and other possible attacks. Here are four big scams we [expect to see](https://www.financedigest.com/thomson-reuters-report-reveals-risk-compliance-staff-expect-to-see-significant-benefits-from-artificial-intelligence-ai-and-distributed-ledger-technologies.html "Thomson Reuters Report Reveals Risk & Compliance Staff Expect to See Significant Benefits from Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Distributed Ledger Technologies") (more of) this year.

**1\. Phishing: The Holiday Bait That Holiday Scammers Are Using**

Phishing is a persistent practice that becomes more [popular over the holidays](https://www.financedigest.com/august-the-most-popular-month-to-start-a-holiday-home-search-reveals-portal.html "AUGUST THE MOST POPULAR MONTH TO START A HOLIDAY HOME SEARCH REVEALS PORTAL"). Cybercriminals will frequently send surveys during this [time of year](https://www.financedigest.com/why-the-new-year-is-the-best-time-to-start-your-dream-tech-business.html "Why the New Year is the best time to start your dream tech business"), acting as representatives of firms and promising rewards in exchange for your participation, knowing that you’ll have a lot more shipments than usual on the way. Cybercriminals will send you false [tracking emails or SMS messages that ask for information or money to fix a problem with a shipment](https://www.financedigest.com/sp-global-acquires-firm-to-bolster-capability-to-track-commodity-shipments.html "S&P Global acquires firm to bolster capability to track commodity shipments").

Cybercriminals excel at looking like the real deal and may even try to get you to follow a link to a phishing site or a malware link. That’s why it’s [important to make sure you double check anything claiming free rewards](https://www.financedigest.com/why-is-employee-reward-and-recognition-so-important.html "Why is employee reward and recognition so important?") or mistakes that involve a payment.

Remember to look for the hook when you receive something dubious. Ask yourself questions like “Would this [organisation really need](https://www.financedigest.com/why-a-modern-organisation-needs-an-agile-approach-to-software-asset-management.html "Why a modern organisation needs an agile approach to software asset management") to confirm my payment information?” or “Would this company send an email like this?

And don’t be afraid to [directly contact a business](https://www.financedigest.com/token-enables-bank-direct-payments-for-caxton-fx-consumer-and-business-customers.html "Token Enables Bank Direct Payments for Caxton FX Consumer and Business Customers") about a sketchy looking message — it might take a couple of minutes, but it’s far better than a fraudster getting your personal information which they can use for all kinds of incriminating purposes.

**2\. [Account Takeover:](https://www.financedigest.com/onespan-launches-ai-based-risk-analytics-stop-account-takeover-new-account-fraud.html "OneSpan Launches AI-Based Risk Analytics to Stop Account Takeover and New Account Fraud") Shopping On You**

The purpose of an account takeover scam is for the fraudster to obtain your login information, pose as you, and then transfer [money and make purchases](https://www.financedigest.com/6-tips-to-save-money-on-your-next-used-car-purchase.html "6 Tips to Save Money on Your Next Used Car Purchase") on your credit card.

During this [time of year](https://www.financedigest.com/30-years-of-excel-lence-time-to-move-on.html "30 YEARS OF EXCEL-LENCE: TIME TO MOVE ON?"), account takeover artists take a particular shine to e-commerce and retail accounts. Whether they acquire credentials on the dark web or other illicit means, cybercriminals are known to break into user accounts and then order items for themselves using the [credit card](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-credit-card-borrowing-rises-by-most-since-2005-boe.html "UK credit card borrowing rises by most since 2005 – BoE") saved on file.

Make sure you keep an eye on your retail account activity. Be aware of notifications for new orders, new shipping addresses, or other account updates. It’s easy to miss a notification during the holiday rush. If you see a charge that doesn’t look right or get notified about an order you don’t remember placing, [it’s worth double checking to make sure your account](https://www.financedigest.com/midlands-accountants-say-its-never-too-early-to-get-financial-protection.html "MIDLANDS ACCOUNTANTS SAY IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO GET FINANCIAL PROTECTION") has not been taken over by a fraudster.

3. **Promotion Abuse: Taking it too far**

When buying gifts, taking advantage of a good price never hurts (or self-shopping, for that matter). In order to enhance [client acquisition](https://www.financedigest.com/iris-acquisition-enables-accountants-to-add-greater-value-to-their-clients.html "IRIS acquisition enables accountants to add greater value to their clients") during a period when more consumers will be online, many banks and shops will be implementing aggressive promotions. These [businesses are dealing with weak account growth and lagging sales](https://www.financedigest.com/the-ultimate-excel-sales-tracking-templates-for-businesses.html "The Ultimate Excel Sales Tracking Templates For Businesses"). These promotions are taken advantage of by con artists, who frequently do so by utilising other people’s information.

One [fintech found this out the hard way](https://www.financedigest.com/france-fintech-smart-card-innovators-still-leading-way.html "France & Fintech: are the smart card innovators still leading the way?") after reporting millions of illegitimate accounts had been opened on their platform. In addition to refer-a-friend and sign-up promotions, cybercriminals will open up accounts to take advantage of the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services that many [retailers offer during this time of the year](https://www.financedigest.com/spains-november-retail-sales-fall-0-6-on-year.html "Spain’s November retail sales fall 0.6% on year").

Bots are often deployed by cybercriminals to try and open as many [accounts as possible to cash](https://www.financedigest.com/controlling-your-business-cash-flow-with-effective-accounts-receivables-turnover-ratios.html "Controlling Your Business Cash Flow With Effective Accounts Receivables Turnover Ratios") in on lucrative promotions. Watch your email [closely for confirmation emails indicating you opened](https://www.financedigest.com/andalucian-open-returns-to-costa-del-golf-as-golfers-go-in-search-of-the-perfect-pad-close-to-the-fairway.html "Andalucian Open returns to ‘Costa del Golf’ as golfers go in search of the perfect pad close to the fairway") a new account. While you might not [experience financial](https://www.financedigest.com/video-collaboration-is-pushing-the-boundaries-of-the-customer-experience-in-financial-services.html "Video Collaboration is pushing the boundaries of the customer experience in Financial Services") losses directly as a result, you don’t want cybercriminals to open accounts in your name with bad intentions.

4. **Santa’s Little Imitators: Fake Websites and Seller Accounts**

In the same way that phishing schemes try to trick a victim into taking an action by pretending to be a legitimate company, fake websites do the same.

In this scam, the fraudster puts up a webpage that looks like the one you want to be on and tricks you into either entering information or clicking a button that triggers a malware download.

These pages can be built to look extremely authentic, and enterprising cybercriminals have even been known to buy Google ads to make their fake sites show up on the front page. It’s also common for phishing emails to point victims to a fake website.

Similarly, cybercriminals are known to make fake [social media](https://www.financedigest.com/10-tips-to-help-with-your-social-media-customer-care.html "10 TIPS TO HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CUSTOMER CARE") accounts (it’s more than a trend for them) and fake seller accounts on retailer sites like eBay. In these cases, cybercriminals might fake a sweepstakes to trick consumers into [sharing](https://www.financedigest.com/uks-bellway-to-buy-back-shares-hike-social-housing-output.html "UK’s Bellway to buy back shares, hike social housing output") personal information or “buying” an item, taking their money, and then never shipping anything.

Consumers are advised to use caution while browsing and avoid clicking on [promotional links in email and on social](https://www.financedigest.com/synechron-launches-social-awareness-campaign-ittakesalltypes-to-promote-diversity-and-inclusion-at-work.html "Synechron Launches Social Awareness Campaign #ItTakesAllTypes to Promote Diversity and Inclusion at Work") media sites. And, as the old adage goes, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Click with care to shop safely this year

The significance of being [aware of your online](https://www.financedigest.com/cpl-online-launch-gdpr-awareness-e-learning-course-in-partnership-with-bytes-software-services.html "CPL Online launch GDPR Awareness e-learning course in partnership with Bytes Software Services") interactions cannot be overstated. Banks and merchants make significant investments in security systems that can [detect fraud](https://www.financedigest.com/the-clues-to-detecting-fraud-are-hidden-in-relationships.html "THE CLUES TO DETECTING FRAUD ARE HIDDEN IN RELATIONSHIPS") before it can hurt your wallet. However, con artists are constantly looking for and finding new ways to capitalise on the holiday, season, or shopper event.

Fortunately, the majority of these [threats can be effectively defended](https://www.financedigest.com/how-can-finance-defend-against-the-cyber-threat-educating-staff-is-key.html "How can finance defend against the cyber threat? Educating staff is key") against by us as people. It is critical to recognise the [warning indications of suspicious conduct and to immediately report](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-report-warns-of-impact-of-islamist-groups-in-prisons.html "UK report warns of impact of Islamist groups in prisons") them. Internet [security is a shared responsibility](https://www.financedigest.com/assurance-v-security-reassessing-responsibility-for-data-assurance.html "Assurance v Security: Reassessing Responsibility for Data Assurance"). Don’t let a cybercriminal ruin your [festive spirit](https://www.financedigest.com/inflation-dampens-festive-spirit-as-german-retail-faces-slump.html "Inflation dampens festive spirit as German retail faces slump"). May the only holiday surprises you get arrive wrapped up in shiny paper.


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