Holiday Alert: ’Tis The Season’ For Scammers

By Stacy M. Brown
Senior National Correspondent
Black Press USA

Holiday lights are blinking across the country, but so are the warning signals. From fake delivery texts to phony charities to scammers cloning voices with artificial intelligence, the holiday season has become a feeding ground for some of the most aggressive fraud tactics targeting Americans today. Law enforcement, consumer watchdogs, and financial institutions agree on one thing. No one is immune.

Capital One has tracked a surge in scams designed to look legitimate at first glance. The bank warns that criminals are impersonating associates and claiming a customer’s credit card has been compromised. Victims are told that their card needs to be collected for testing. A courier arrives, takes the card, and drains the account.

Capital One officials explain that “it will never dispatch anyone to a residence to retrieve a card.”

Other schemes hitting customers include impostors posing as legitimate charities. They pressure donors and sometimes change payment amounts when people give in person. Capital One recommends verifying charitable groups through established evaluation websites and reviewing payment screens carefully.

Criminals are also exploiting the online shopping rush. Fraudsters build fake websites and social media storefronts, offer unrealistic discounts, and never deliver merchandise. Some sites use fraudulent checkout processes to steal both money and personal data. Capital One urges consumers to research businesses and verify reviews before buying.

Consumer Affairs has documented the same patterns nationwide. The outlet reports a spike in misleading social media ads directing people to buy products that never arrive or that enroll shoppers in hidden subscriptions. Consumer Affairs noted that online purchase scams were one of the most dangerous fraud categories in the country based on the latest BBB Scam Tracker analysis.

Consumer Affairs also confirms that pyramid-style social media gift exchanges have reappeared. They promise dozens of gifts in exchange for one. The exchanges are illegal and are designed to harvest personal information belonging to participants and their contacts.

Holiday-themed apps aimed at children are another tool scammers use. Some contain hidden advertising and tracking functions, while others hide malware behind festive graphics.

AARP Research finds that the risk extends well beyond social media. Nearly nine out of ten adults in the United States say they have been targeted by or experienced some form of scam. 

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Its latest survey shows that thirty percent of adults have had packages stolen from their doorsteps. It also shows sharp increases in money sent to strangers through peer-to-peer platforms and a rise in fraud linked to social media ads. AARP notes that forty-six percent of adults made purchases through social media in the past year, but only half understood that the ads are often untrustworthy.

Gift card fraud remains one of the most widespread problems. AARP reports that a third of adults have given or received a gift card with no balance because criminals drained the funds.

Many gift cards placed on retail racks are secretly tampered with by thieves who record the numbers and wipe the funds moments after purchase.