The holiday season is a time for slowing down, enjoying togetherness, and celebrating with family and friends. Unfortunately, it’s also a time when cybercriminals ramp up scams because people are moving fast, shopping more online, and paying less attention to small warning signs.
During the holiday shopping season, attackers take advantage of increased online activity, crowded inboxes, and the urgency of ‘limited-time’ deals. The goal of this guide is simple: help you recognize the most common holiday cybersecurity threats and follow a few practical steps that prevent the majority of real-world incidents.
Why cybercrimes spike during the holidays
A few things come together all at once:
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Shopping volume goes up. More purchases mean more receipts, shipping notifications, promotions, and payment activity—which gives scammers plenty of cover to blend in.
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More messages, less attention. Holiday emails and texts create noise. Scammers rely on you being busy and clicking first, thinking second.
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More gift cards. Gift cards are popular because they’re easy gifts. Criminals love them because they’re hard to trace and often impossible to recover once redeemed.
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More temporary changes. People travel, use new devices, log in from different locations, and connect to unfamiliar Wi-Fi—each change increases risk.
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Businesses run lean. Many companies have reduced staffing or rotating coverage, which can slow response to suspicious activity.
The holiday scams seen most often
1) Deal scams and brand impersonation
Holiday promotions create perfect bait: “80% off,” “only a few left,” “one-day flash sale.” Scammers often imitate real brands using:
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lookalike domains (one letter off from the real site)
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social media ads leading to fake storefronts
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counterfeit “customer reviews” and fake trust badges
What to do instead: If you see a deal on social media, don’t click straight through. Open a new tab and type the retailer’s address yourself (or use a trusted bookmark). If you’ve never heard of the seller, search the business name + “scam” or “reviews,” and be cautious if the site has no physical address, no customer service info, or only brand-new reviews.
2) Checkout and payment traps
A major red flag is when a seller insists on unusual payment methods. If a site says you can only pay via gift card, wire transfer, payment apps, or cryptocurrency, treat it as high risk.
Safer approach: Use a credit card when possible (better dispute options), and avoid storing payment methods on unfamiliar sites. If a checkout page looks “off” or redirects you strangely, stop and verify you’re on the official domain.
3) Delivery notification and “small fee” scams
Holiday shipping volume makes “delivery problems” believable. Scammers send texts or emails pretending to be carriers, claiming:
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a package is held due to an address issue
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you owe a small redelivery fee
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you must confirm details immediately
What to do instead: Don’t click the link in the message. Check tracking directly using the merchant’s website, your order confirmation, or the carrier’s official site/app.
4) Gift card scams
Gift cards are a favorite for scammers because the value can be drained quickly. Common tactics include:
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“discount gift card” offers sent via email, text, or social messages
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tampered packaging in stores (numbers copied, card drained after activation)
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impersonation scams demanding gift cards for “urgent payments”
Safer approach: Buy gift cards directly from reputable retailers, inspect packaging, keep the receipt, and never share the redemption code with anyone you don’t know.
5) Phishing emails and “account alerts”
The holidays bring a flood of receipts and account notifications. Attackers hide in that noise with phishing messages that look like:
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password resets
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security alerts
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“unusual login” warnings
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billing issues and refund messages
What to do instead: Never log in through an email link. Go directly to the real website or app and check your account there. If the email pressures you with urgency (“act now”), that’s a sign to slow down and verify.
Holiday cybersecurity checklist for individuals
You don’t need a complicated plan. These habits cover most scenarios:
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Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) anywhere it’s available—especially email, banking, and shopping accounts.
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Use a password manager so every account has a strong, unique password (without you having to remember them all).
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Slow down and verify: check the URL, watch for misspellings, and be cautious with “urgent” messages pushing you to act fast.
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Use credit cards when possible and keep receipts and order confirmations in case you need to dispute charges.
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Keep devices updated (phones, laptops, tablets) so you’re not shopping on outdated software and missing security patches.
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Avoid shopping on public Wi-Fi unless you trust the network; if you must, avoid logging into banking or entering payment details.
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Monitor accounts and set alerts for transactions so you catch suspicious charges quickly.
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Protect your email first. If someone gets into your email, they can often reset passwords for everything else.
Holiday cybersecurity checklist for businesses
Businesses face many of the same threats—plus added risk around employee accounts, financial approvals, and customer data. Before your team shifts into holiday mode, consider these steps:
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Require MFA on key systems (email, VPN, admin portals, finance tools).
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Run a short phishing refresher: verify requests, don’t click unknown links, and report suspicious messages quickly.
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Tighten financial controls: require a second approval for wire transfers, ACH changes, or new vendor payment details—especially during holiday weeks.
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Update endpoints and servers and confirm patching is current where it matters most.
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Review inbox rules and forwarding on high-risk accounts (executives, finance, HR). Unexpected forwarding rules can be a sign of compromise.
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Confirm monitoring and escalation coverage: who is on-call, how incidents get escalated, and what “after hours” response looks like.
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Be careful with out-of-office messages: avoid sharing travel details, internal processes, or alternate contacts that scammers could exploit.
If you think you clicked, paid, or shared information
Don’t panic—act quickly and methodically:
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Stop further access: change passwords (start with email), revoke active sessions where possible, and enable MFA if it isn’t already on.
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Protect your money: contact your bank or credit card company if payment info was involved. If you paid with gift cards, report it immediately (speed matters).
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Document what happened: keep screenshots, email headers (if available), transaction details, and any URLs involved.
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Report the scam: reporting helps create patterns that protect others—and can help your bank, email provider, or platforms act faster.
Need expert help?
If you want to harden your environment before the holiday rush—or make sure your monitoring and response coverage doesn’t drop when staff is out—contact our team so we can help you reduce risk during the busiest season of the year. The holidays should be memorable for the right reasons.