Are You Staying Safe from Holiday Fraudsters This Season?

As the holiday season gets underway, many of us are turning our attention to shopping, travel, and planning meaningful time with family and friends. Alongside all the excitement, however, there’s also a noticeable surge in fraud attempts. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve personally seen a jump in phishing emails, suspicious phone calls, and messages posing as well-known retailers, all designed to take advantage of this busy time of year.

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday in full swing, fraudsters know we’re often rushed, distracted, and focused on finding the best deals. This period consistently marks the highest volume of cybercrime each year, and the lead-up to these major shopping events is especially active. Fake retail websites, unrealistic promotions, and phony shipment alerts become far more common. And with increasingly sophisticated AI tools, such as deepfake endorsements, cloned voices, and convincing spoofed retailer pages, these schemes are becoming harder to spot.

As I’ve emphasized in earlier commentaries, protecting your net worth requires a disciplined, deliberate approach. The same mindset applies to safeguarding your digital footprint. A moment of caution can be the difference between a safe holiday season and the headache of dealing with compromised accounts.

Here are a few practical steps to help keep your holiday activities secure:

• Be skeptical of deals that seem unusually good.
• Shop only with merchants you know and trust and avoid purchasing through pop-up ads.
• Research unfamiliar retailers before entering any personal information.
• Watch for fake order or delivery notifications; verify anything suspicious directly on official websites.
• For package deliveries, consider requiring signatures, using secure pickup options, or giving specific drop-off instructions to avoid theft.

Delivery-related scams also spike during this period, with fraudsters frequently impersonating major courier companies to prompt you to click malicious links or share sensitive information. Taking a moment to double-check a message before responding can go a long way in preventing issues.

Being prepared is the best defense. The holidays should be spent enjoying time with family and friends, not dealing with fraud claims or trying to recover stolen information.

By staying vigilant in the coming days and throughout the season, we can all look forward to a safer, more relaxed, and more joyful holiday ahead.

‍