How to spot these 6 common holiday scams

The holidays should be full of connection and celebration, but they’re also prime time for holiday scams. Scammers take advantage of increased online shopping, charitable giving, and seasonal distractions.

Knowing how to spot scams and avoid becoming a victim of fraud can help you keep your season joyful—and your information safe. We’ve made a list of six common red flags to be on the lookout against.

1. Fake online stores and lookalike websites

Criminals can set up fake, online storefronts that mimic legitimate retailers. They can be quite convincing, including logos with a polished design and product reviews that seem to be from real customers. These sites may promote hard-to-find gifts or offer low prices on spendy and trendy gifts. The scam comes into play after you pay but never receive the item.

In 2024, scams relating to goods not being delivered or merchants never receiving payment totaled more than $785 million^{Disclosure 1} , according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).^{Disclosure 1}

This fake online store ploy also opens you up to a second risk—your payment information is now released to the criminals behind the fake shop. The FBI tracked more than $174 million of loss related to identity theft in the same 2024 report.^{Disclosure 1}

Tip: Check the online shop URL carefully for typos or odd spellings. Avoid unfamiliar retailers with no contact information or unclear return policies.

2. Phishing emails

Is your inbox piling up with newsletters offering promo codes from your favorite shops? Be careful—phishing scams could be hiding among them. Imagine you see an email asking for an immediate reply about a delivery or a sales promotion. Pause and look carefully. Emails like these are not all legitimate, and a major red flag is if the message prompts you to reset your password or confirm personal details, Social Security number, or a bank account number. Even just clicking on a link can instantly download malware to your device or put you at risk for identity theft.

Tip: If an email feels urgent, includes typos, or has a generic greeting, it may be a holiday phishing scam. Don’t click links. Instead, visit the company’s official site directly.

3. Smishing: Phishing by text

Smishing—also known as SMS phishing—is when a scammer targets you via a text message. Picture this: Your text alert sounds, and you see a message telling you about an urgent delivery update, or a flash sale with an exclusive, cryptic link. Should you respond? Just like the email scam, this is a false front for getting you to put your information and money in someone else’s hands. Shipment notifications from delivery providers and online retailers, and toll-road alerts from state departments of transportation or EZPass are particularly common text message phishing scams.

Tip: Never click on a link in a text from an unknown number. Verify it’s legit in a different way. Go directly to the company’s app or website to check your account. You can also search the internet for the sender’s number along with the word “scam” to spot known fraud.

4. Fake charities and donation appeals

Remember the fake online fronts for shopping? The same method can be turned into a way to take advantage of you feeling the giving spirit of the holiday season. Scammers create a fake charity or imitate a real one and send out requests for cash gifts. Their messages are often emotional and urgent.

You might also come across peer-to-peer donation requests on social media. Many campaigns to raise money for an individual’s cancer treatment, home fire, or other personal disaster are real, but others are unfortunately not.

Tip: Legitimate charities have completed paperwork with the IRS and may also have a profile with a group that validates charities. Do an internet search to verify their authenticity, or consider donating to established, well-known charities. Peer-to-peer requests may be harder to research, but it’s a good idea to keep this type of giving to people you know personally or who someone you trust has vouched for.

5. Seasonal job search scams

Job recruiting scams are a year-round risk, but holiday hiring can open the door to more danger because it’s a time when more people are looking for more income. These scams may involve unrealistic job offers, too-good-to-be-true work-from-home or sales opportunities, or the promise of a job without having to interview in exchange for an upfront fee.

Tip: The Federal Trade Commission offers information to help educate Americans on the many types of job search and employment scams to keep employment safer all year round.^{Disclosure 2}

6. Social engineering scams

Social engineering scams rely on emotional pressure. You might receive a message or call from someone claiming to be your bank, a doctor’s office, or a relative in trouble.

Romance scams are also a form of social engineering that can take advantage of the emotions of the holiday season. A victim will build what they think is a genuine personal relationship online or even in real life. Your trust is then abused to gain a co-signature on a loan, cash, or expensive purchases.

Tip: Pause and verify before acting—and share new relationships with your friends and family. If something feels urgent or emotional, or if the person asks you to keep the relationship a secret, that’s a red flag.