An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

Nick Kelly, Joby James

The holiday season brings out lots of cheer and warm feelings. It’s a time to celebrate with family and friends. It’s also a time to heighten your awareness of scammers with ill intentions. This blog will walk you through common scams to look out for during the holidays, offering practical advice to help you stay safe. During the holiday season, social engineering scams take on plenty of believable forms:

Fake delivery notifications are one common scam tactic. You may receive an email or text message (usually with a shortened link) that indicates a package was delivered to your residence. Check with your partner, spouse, or family members to make sure someone ordered a delivery before clicking on any links or QR codes. 

Look out for holiday charity scams. Check the validity of  website or URL before assuming that they are legitimate. Charity Navigator is one resource to verify a charity or nonprofit.

Gift cards are another popular flavor of scams. Beware discounts on gift cards or complimentary vouchers. These discounts or vouchers may accompany special promotions. Wrong transactions are another flavor of this, claiming that there is a wrong transaction or a refund available.

Watch for online fraud: When you are shopping online, you may see some websites that are unfamiliar or even slightly off from your normal shopping favorites. Purchases made on these sites may capture your credit card information. Ensure any website where you are making purchases leverages TLS encryption. This is indicated by the link starting with https and not http. The ‘s’ indicates a secure link. There is also a padlock icon that accompanies these secure sites. Criminals have found ways to get around to obtain and use fraudulent TLS certificates from the Dark web to setup convincing looking web sites. If you’re going to a website where you intend to divulge personal information, type the address directly into the URL. Then check the domain once you’ve arrived to make sure it is where you wanted to go and not a variation.

Watch for fraudulent charges: Keep an eye on your transaction history. Holiday seasons may feature an uptick in the number of transactions. This opens the opportunity for scammers to sneak fraudulent charges onto your account. Report anything that looks suspicious to your credit card company.

Take care when applying for new credit cards: Some online retailers and stores offer their own credit cards. Many offer a deep discount on your first purchase. Keep an eye when applying for these sites. Some will trigger an immediate check on your credit score or credit history. These inquiries may have an impact on your credit score, making it harder to get a credit card in the future. Another consequence is credit card approval but with much higher interest rates. Before opening a new credit card, read the terms and conditions to understand things like the APR and the interest you might accrue.

ReportFraud.ftc.gov is the federal government's website where you can report fraud, scams, and bad business practices.