Scams to look out for this holiday season

This report provides a consumer-focused overview of prevalent holiday-season cybercrime tactics—such as fake retail websites, gift card scams, fraudulent shipping notifications, malicious e-cards, vishing, bogus prize draws, fake charities, fake job listings, and travel scams—often delivered via phishing, smishing, social media ads, and marketplace listings. It advises practical defenses including strong, unique passwords with 2FA/passkeys, software updates, security software, careful URL/sender verification, using credit cards over instant transfers, and validating delivery or travel details through official channels, noting that generative AI is making scams more convincing at scale.