The holiday season is a time for joy, cheer, and unfortunately, scams. Everyone is vulnerable to holiday scams. They can damage your reputation and drain your resources. In this article, we will be discussing some of the most common holiday shopping scams and offering tips on how to protect yourself, so that you can enjoy your holidays knowing you are prepared.

Impostor Scams

One of the most common and effective scams during the holiday season is the impostor scam. An impostor poses as a family member, friend, or even your bank, and requests you send them money or asks for your confidential information. They will often appeal to your emotions by claiming they’re in an emergency and identify you as the hero to their sad story. These scammers often will request gift cards be sent to them because these are as good as cash. Or they may request a money order or wire transfer, sometimes overseas, claiming they’re stuck in a foreign country without access to money. These messages usually express a high sense of urgency.

Phishing Emails

Scammers often send phishing emails during the holiday season disguised as legitimate emails from retailers or banks, luring you to click a link that leads to a fraudulent website or requesting sensitive personal information. You must be cautious with all emails. Check their legitimacy, and never click a link without thoroughly examining it. Ensure your antivirus software is up-to-date and educate your friends, family, and coworkers on how to identify phishing scams.

Fake Websites

Another popular scam during the holiday season is creating fake websites that mimic popular retailers or sales websites. These fraudulent websites have one goal: stealing your payment information and using it to commit card fraud. A common tactic of fraudsters is to create website domains that are very close to the authentic thing. For example, a fraudster may create a website with the domain Amazzon (note the misspelling) and they’ll try to make their fake website look just like the real Amazon website. Always type the website URL directly into your browser instead of clicking links from emails or other third-party sites. If something looks suspicious, it probably is.

Insecure Connections

Never do business with a website that does not use SSL technology to encrypt their sensitive data. SSL stands for secure sockets layer, and a website that is utilizing this protocol will feature HTTPS (the “S” denotes secure) in the URL and will have a locked padlock icon in the URL bar in your browser. This padlock indicates that any data you enter into that website is encrypted over a secure connection. If you were to enter sensitive data into a website that is not utilizing SSL technology, the odds of the data being intercepted by hackers is high.

Gift Card Scams

Gift cards have become a popular gift during the holiday season. Unfortunately, they have also become a popular scam target. A common activity for scammers is to sell fake gift cards that will not work or are already used. To avoid falling for this scam, ensure you only purchase gift cards from legitimate sources - directly from retailers or known gift card sellers.

Fake Shipping Notifications

During the holiday season, it is common for retailers to send shipping notifications to customers. Scammers have taken advantage of this practice by sending fake shipping notifications that contain malware or redirect you to a fake website that steals your sensitive information. Be wary of shipping notifications that you did not expect or do not look legitimate. Always check the email address carefully before opening these notifications, and never click links inside an email that you were not expecting.

Social Media Scams

Scammers use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) to promote holiday shopping scams, as it is easier to cast a broad net. Several tactics include offering fake promotions and deals or fake giveaways that ultimately collect your personal information. Whenever you see a promotion on any social media platform, check the source before you share any information or fill out any forms. Be sure to confirm the social media account is actually the authentic account for the business. You can do this by manually entering the business’ website URL directly into your browser, and then searching their website for their promoted social media accounts. These accounts are generally listed in the footer of the website or sometimes on the About page.

Conclusion

Be sure you have account alerts in place with your bank. Most banks, including CrossFirst, feature the ability to easily setup alerts through digital banking. These can be customized to trigger an email or text in the event of suspicious activity on your account. This is an essential safeguard that may save you from falling victim to a fraud attempt on your account.

The holiday season should be a time of joy, fun, and time with friends and family. But, it can be quickly ruined by fraudsters. By staying informed and following the tips listed above, you can help avoid and protect yourself against holiday shopping scams. Remember, it's always better to be cautious and check things twice.

Don’t forget - CrossFirst Bank will never ask you to reveal or confirm any sensitive information, such as an account number, PIN, Password or User ID from an email, unsolicited phone call, or text message. The security and confidentiality of your personal information is a top priority. If you have any questions, please call the number listed on your account statement or contact Client Care at (844) 261-2548.