The holidays are a busy season for both shoppers and scammers. Shoppers searching for gifts can be quick to grab a good deal, especially when rising costs on everyday items are making budgets tight. That makes them easy prey for criminals who are adept at packaging their scams to look like bargains for holiday shoppers.
Recent statistics show that 80 percent of US consumers report being targeted by the type of scams that are common during the holidays, and those who fall for them often lose — a lot. A 2023 survey showed victims of holiday shopping scams lost an average of $1,500.
AI enhances the effectiveness of holiday scams
This holiday season, the schemes launched by scammers promise to be more challenging to detect. Advances in artificial intelligence have given criminals new capabilities to design and deploy attacks that are more complex and sophisticated than those utilized in the past.
From voice cloning to deepfakes to highly personalized phishing attacks, AI is being utilized to enhance the credibility and effectiveness of a wide variety of scams. Luckily, there are some steps consumers can take to lower the chances of becoming a victim during this year’s holiday shopping season and beyond.
Avoid online coupon sites
The internet is overflowing with sites offering coupons that promise to unlock special savings, many of which are scams. With the holiday shopping season underway, a new wave of fake sites has been polluting most search engines, trying to trick users with coupons promising savings on popular e-commerce sites. Clicking on the coupons is dangerous. Those posted by scammers are designed to load malware or redirect shoppers to fake websites that steal personal information.
Be careful with charity sites
Besides being a season for shopping, the holidays are also a time when people are generous with their charitable donations. Scammers seeking to take advantage of generous donors will run ads appearing to promote charities that, in reality, click through to fraudulent sites. The best practice for donations is to avoid ads and go directly to the organization’s website.
Beware of package delivery scams
Experts expect shoppers to spend $241 billion shopping online this holiday season, translating to millions of package deliveries. Criminals try to scam those awaiting deliveries with SMS phishing or “smishing” attacks by fraudulently reporting a missed package, package reroute, or lost package and offering a link to address the problem. Those who receive such messages should follow up via the customer service number provided on the company’s website rather than clicking on the link provided in the message.
Avoid buying discounted gift cards
Using third-party sites to offer discounted gift cards is a common online scam. A staggering number of search engine results lead to fake sites specifically designed to steal your credit card information.
Don’t pay with alternative payment services
Shoppers should be suspicious of vendors that only accept cryptocurrency, PayPal, Zelle, or other alternative payment services. Using reliable credit cards like American Express or Discover, which provide 24/7 customer service and good fraud protection, makes it easier to avoid scams and get help after falling victim to one.
Be careful with tickets sold by resellers
In recent years, there has been an increase in fake tickets pushed during the holiday season, especially for concerts, sporting events, and other shows occurring in the new year. The purchases often come with authentic-looking email confirmations, QR codes, and PDF attachments that prevent victims from discovering the fraud until they try to attend the event. To stay safe, avoid purchasing tickets from third-party vendors or resellers unless they are on a marketplace that guarantees delivery and refunds for fraudulent sales.
Be careful with credit cards during in-person shopping
The holiday season also triggers more in-person shopping, with consumers hitting malls and other marketplaces to make purchases. Scammers using high-resolution cameras can use in-person shopping as an opportunity to capture the numbers on credit cards as they are presented to make purchases.
To avoid these scams, avoid using credit cards in crowded public locations such as coffee shops and mall kiosks. Instead, use digital wallets to make purchases without presenting physical cards.
Tech tricks for thwarting holiday scams
While technology is providing new tools to criminals this holiday season, it also gives shoppers new ways to sidestep scams. For example, virtual credit cards allow consumers to use a unique card for every online purchase while preserving the ability to track transactions. Virtual cards prevent scammers from using stolen card numbers for unauthorized transactions.
Online password managers can help shoppers create unique usernames and passwords for each website or service they use, which minimizes the impact of stolen login credentials. When credentials are shared across numerous sites, one breach can lead to extensive damage. Virtual phone numbers can be used similarly to prevent criminals from targeting your primary phone number with scams.
For scams to succeed, shoppers must lower their defenses. Those who stay vigilant and avoid the spaces where scams are most likely to occur will have the best chance of having a safe and secure holiday shopping experience.
