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Missing Package Scam?

Delivery notification scam calls and texts are popular during the holidays. These text messages and calls look like they’re from a legitimate mail or package courier, such as the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, and UPS and will include a fake tracking link. Never click a link or call back a number from an unexpected delivery notice. Contact the company directly using a verified known number or website.​​​​​​​

Postal services continue to be used by scammers to deliver fake lottery and sweepstakes letters, chain letters, fake inheritance letters, and more. Scammers have also been known to pretend to be legitimate postal service providers and ask for money to deliver parcels. You can read more about this common type of scam here.

Coupons and Prizes: Too Good to be True?

A popular scam that goes around during the holiday season often come in the form of unsolicited text messages or emails that are offering heavy discounts on common gift items, or that offers to give away or raffle expensive or desirable items. Remember if a deal sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

It works like this: Scammers typically claim that you need to pay fees or taxes before your ‘winnings’ or prize can be released. You may also have to call or SMS a premium rate phone number to claim your prize. If you pay, you will never receive the promised prize and lose every cent that you send.  Be careful what personal information you share with as they can use that also to commit identity theft. Why do these scams work? Because everyone loves a discount, and the excitement of winning a prize is a strong draw to click or call!

Keep in mind that you cannot win money, prizes etc. in a lottery or a competition unless you actually entered them, or someone did for you. But a scammer can advertise such an event in emails and on websites and make it appear that it is personal just to you. Be wary of anyone that you don't know asking for your personal information, especially your banking details.

Social Media Scams?

Each holiday season you can count on social media scams showing up in some form or another. These days, scams come in all shapes and sizes. Fraudsters use social media sites to advertise various scams to a large audience. Posts might include anything from investment opportunities to items or services for sale. They will also send direct messages/emails/texts, even phone calls to people trying to extract money or personal data which can then be used to access bank accounts and cards.

Examples: Social media gift exchange scam revolves around:

• exchanging bottles of wine
• purchasing $10 gifts online
• submitting your email into a list where participants get to pick a name and send money to strangers to "pay it forward."
• "Secret Santa Dog" where you buy a $10 gift for your "secret dog."

In all of these versions, participants unwittingly share their personal information, along with those of their family members and friends, and are further tricked into buying and shipping gifts or money to unknown individuals.

"Secret Sister" is a social media scam that has been going around for the last couple of years. Facebook users recruit “sisters” with the promise that they could receive up to 36 gifts. They are required to buy a $10 gift for a stranger on the internet. You have to provide your name, address and email, which opens the door for identity theft. Then recruit some of YOUR friends to join.

If you think it sounds like a pyramid scheme, you’re right. This scam has been identified by the Better Business Bureau, which released a statement describing the scam and why it is illegal. You can read this .

Charity?

Sadly, many scammers will capitalize on the goodwill that flourishes this time of year by asking you to make a donation to a charity that does not actually exist. Charity scams involve scammers collecting money by pretending to work for a legitimate cause or charity, or a fictitious one they have created. Often scammers will exploit a recent natural disaster or crisis that has been in the news. They may also play on your emotions by claiming to collect for a cause that will secure your sympathy, for example to help sick children. These scams divert much-needed donations away from legitimate charities and causes. Scammers may set up fake charity drives that will collect donations for any number of causes.

Verify the authenticity of any charity you’d like to make a contribution to by researching it before you send it any money. Pay special attention to how a charity wants to receive money. Cryptocurrencies or gift cards are red flags.

Gift Card Scams?

Many scammers will try to get you to pay them with gift cards. Scammers love gift cards because they are untraceable, and it is typically impossible to recover the money once a scammer has the card details. Common gift card scams include scammers telling you to pay a fee with a gift card to avoid being in trouble with the government or pretending to be a family member or friend who needs the funds for a specific store.

Remember this one KEY RULE: Whenever someone demands to be paid with a gift card, it’s a scam.

Fake Websites?

Scammers may set up fraudulent websites claiming to sell high-value items at a discount. These sites tend to appear more frequently during the holiday season, as demand for common gift items increases. Some telltale signs of a fake site: The fake site's web address will have an extra number or letter; the site may also have grammatical errors or limited contact information.

The holiday season brings endless emails offering deals, sales and bargains. Be wary of emails with links enclosed. Some may lead to fraudulent websites created by scammers to trick people into downloading malware, making dead-end purchases and sharing private information.

Whenever you receive an email with a link to click, saying that your account has been compromised and requires immediate attention such as a password, BE SKEPTICAL. These links lead to websites are typically part of an elaborate phishing scam.

Not getting what you paid for is a common scam targeting online shoppers. A scammer will sell a product to you and then send a faulty or inferior quality item, or nothing at all. They may also pretend to sell a product just to gather your credit card or bank account details.

QR Codes?

Another common method used by scammers is the process of embedding dangerous material in a QR code. A QR code is a series of squares that can be translated into text, often a message or a link to a website. Many email and text filters are not able to scan QR codes, so scammers can bypass these filters by using QR codes to hide malicious links to fake websites.

Whenever you receive a QR code from an individual or organization that you do not trust or recognize, do not scan the QR code! Doing so could automatically redirect you to the malicious website embedded within the code. This is just as dangerous as clicking a link in a phishing email.

You can read more about how scammers use QR codes in this article.

Travel Scams?

Travel Scams

Around this time of year, many people will travel to spend the season with friends or family. This is a prime opportunity for scammers to strike. A scammer may send links to a fake website that claims to be affiliated with a travel agency. The site will offer deals on travel and hotel bookings for a very low price. The website will allow you to "book" these fraudulent flights and hotels by providing payment information. In reality, the deal was simply too good to be true, and the scammer now has access to some of your financial information.

To avoid these types of scams, it is best to use reputable, trustworthy websites to book your flights and hotels. Whenever you find an offer that is unusually inexpensive, stop and verify that the deal comes from one of these safe sites. If it doesn't, it is likely a scam.

Another travel-related scam features a text message, email, or letter stating that you have unpaid tolls, fees, or fines that you accumulated while traveling on toll roads. If the message is fraudulent, you will actually be paying a scammer when you do not owe any real fees. It is critical to verify that the message you received came from a legitimate transportation authority before you pay the alleged fees.

An example of what the toll scam looks like can be seen below. The redacted phone number and malicious website had no affiliation with the Ohio Turnpike.