In 2023, we saw a rapid increase in phishing scams related to online shopping, package delivery, tax debt, and gift cards. 2024 is showing similar scam trends:
- Delivery status notice
- Tax refund or relief
- Online shopping sites
- Charities
Holiday scams are not new and criminals are figuring out new ways to conduct the same old scams. They often have three components:
- Demand for action
- Sense of urgency
- Penalty
Criminals are leveraging previous data breaches and artificial intelligence to create targeted scams at specific people, organizations, and families. Here are some ways to reduce the exposure to these scams:
- Validate any unsolicited text, call, or email. Don’t click on links sent via text or email that were not requested. This is especially important when the message appears to come from the IRS or law enforcement.
- Stay calm. Criminals use emotions and urgency to get people to act without thinking. Validate any message that requires immediate action.
- Pay by credit card. Credit cards have an option to dispute charges that may be fraudulent. Criminals prefer payment with gift cards, wire transfers, payment apps, and cryptocurrency because there are limited ways to dispute fraudulent transactions.
- Monitor financials. Enable multifactor authentication on all accounts and monitor bank statements for accurate charges.
