Holiday Fraud 2025: Gift Card Schemes Exploiting Seasonal Shopping

Executive summary: The report highlights organized, industrial‑scale gift card and prepaid card fraud that surges during the holiday season, driven by underground marketplaces (e.g., CytronGift, Card2Crypto) and skilled actors sharing tutorials and liquidation services; it details common TTPs — automated bots, double‑dip refund scams, and cryptocurrency conversion — and recommends enhanced transaction monitoring, vendor controls, and staff training to mitigate losses.