The holidays can be a happy time thanks to time spent with family and friends as well as unique holiday traditions. They can also be a scary time too, as scammers tend to be most active around the holiday season.
Why, you ask? Well, people often let their guard down during the holiday season because of the caring holiday spirit. While we will always support being kind during the holidays, we also recommend being cautious—keep reading to learn all the common signs of a holiday scam.
7 Common Holiday Scams
1. Texts or Emails from a Delivery Company
Yes, the USPS and Amazon will send you texts when an item you ordered is out for delivery but SO many scammers operate in this space as well.
If you receive a text about a delivery, DO NOT click on any links. Additionally, do not reply. Instead, we recommend returning to the website you ordered the item from and resolving any issues directly on the platform.
For example, if Amazon texts you with a message that reads “Package XXXX is undeliverable, find out more at this link:” This could be legitimate or a scam, and there is no way to know for certain based on the text alone. If you click the link, you could be giving your information to a scammer. Therefore, the only safe thing to do is go back to Amazon and check the status of your order there. If there is a real issue, they can help you to resolve it safely on their platform.
2. “Your Friend or Relative Sent You a Gift”
This is an old scam where someone will contact you via phone or email and let you know that you have received a gift, but that you need to pay taxes or fees before you can receive it.
Unless you live abroad, this is ALWAYS a scam. Most individuals cannot send items “collect” or “pay on delivery” only companies can do so—and then it isn’t a gift anyway. Scammers will also do this with “prizes” you have won. Basically if anyone contacts you saying you have to pay an amount of money to receive something—it’s a scam.
If you do live abroad, then you very well may have to pay taxes or duties for a gift, but this request will always come from an official source, such as a postcard from the post company, or a notification in your email. To ensure that it is the real deal, we recommend looking up your local postal company online and contacting them via the number located there.
Never call the number on a suspicious-looking email or text, as you might be speaking directly with the scammers. Always start your search by going to the official website and working from there.
3. Fake Stores
Sadly, there are a lot of fake or scam stores on the internet, offering deals that seem too good to be true. We recommend only ordering from shops that a friend has ordered from (and received their item from already) or from an official store like Walmart, Amazon, or Target. This way, you can ensure you will actually receive your items, and your information won’t be compromised.
Check out our list of approved and safe stores in our article 11 Best Gift Websites.
4. Never Give Information Payment Information Over the Phone
It’s the 2020s. There should be no reason you need to give anyone your information over the phone. All reputable companies have an online platform, digital chat, and secure forms for inserting payment information. If anyone is requesting your information over the phone, it is likely a scam.
Obviously, there will be a few cases where this isn’t true, but we find that the risk far outweighs the rewards and that it’s better to request to pay online (and if they don’t have an online place for you to pay—run!).
Of course, you need to watch for internet scams as well, but we covered that in a different blog article.
5. Facebook Friend Requests
There is a special type of scam known as a social engineering scam, where an individual will pretend to be a family member or friend and will chat with you online. Generally, they will friend you with a profile bearing a name you recognize and start messaging you.
Even if it is someone you recognize, like your daughter or granddaughter, do not engage until you talk to the individual in person first. These scammers are smart and they can steal information from your loved one’s page in order to convince you they are your relative. Our recommendation is this—before engaging with them, call or email your family member to find out why they friended you on Facebook, or why they have a new profile. If they have no recollection or know they have not friended you recently, then it is probably a scam.
These individuals may seem nice at first and may even speak like they know you, but it will always end with them asking for money. If they do ask for money, do not send it.
6. Places Where You Have to Pay in Gift Cards
There is no reputable store under the sun that requires you to pay for your purchases with gift cards. If someone says you have to pay with a gift card, it’s a scam. This is also the same with cryptocurrency. If you need to go to a Bitcoin ATM the person telling you to do so isn’t who they say they are.
7. Porch Pirates
The last on our list of common scams is porch pirates, who will steal packages from your porch when you aren’t home(or even when you are!). Unfortunately, this can be unavoidable. We recommend ensuring you will be home during the delivery, or consider purchasing a ring or other camera doorbell that will allow you to keep an eye on your porch while you are away.
Even if you aren’t 100% sure how to set up and monitor a porch doorbell, studies have shown that just having one set up and pointed at your doormat is enough to deter most pirates. Sadly, some will still be brazen and steal anyway, but it’s important to do what you can to deter them.
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