- Holiday scams are rising. Phishing and smishing attacks are targeting online shoppers.
- Scammers exploit the busy holiday season, using fake delivery messages to steal data.
- Law enforcement also warns of porch pirates.
Law enforcement and security professionals are warning of increased scam activity this holiday season.
Most holiday scams are phishing scams that can be found year-round, though scammers will theme their fraud to fit the season. An example could be a fake social media ad for a holiday product that sends you to a scam website or an email saying that a package you ordered for a Christmas gift is delayed and needs your approval.
“Remember, don’t click on anything unknown, even if you just ordered gifts and you’re expecting packages to come to your door soon,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a release. “Double-check before you click.”
One of the most popular frauds this holiday season is a “smishing” scam involving text messages from people who claim to be the United States Postal Service, Melanie McGovern, the director of public relations at the Better Business Bureau, told Business Insider. The text message might say a package you ordered is delayed and include a link to a fake website that the scammers use to steal personal information.
“The biggest thing for people to remember is if they have opted into text reminders,” McGovern said. “You have to opt in to receive any kind of text message from a retailer. Keeping track of what you ordered and where, how it’s being delivered, is really important.”
Scammers target the holiday season because it’s a time when people are “super busy” buying gifts for loved ones, McGovern said. It can be easy to fall for a phishing scam during this time of the year, McGovern said, because of the commotion around holiday shopping.
“They’re panicking, you know,” McGovern said. “We’re a week from Christmas, and they’re like, ‘Oh no, my package is being held up. It’s something for my child. You’re naturally going to go into panic mode.”
One method to spot a phishing scam is to look at where the text or email is coming from, McGovern said. The USPS says it only uses “5-digit short codes” to send and receive text messages to and from mobile phones. One example of a fake scam text claiming to be from the USPS reviewed by Business Insider shows a +63 area code, which originates in the Philippines.
“They’re phishing,” McGovern said. “I got one the other day for my health insurance, and it looked like it was coming from your health insurance, until I looked at the address and realized it.”
The most important thing to do if you think you are being scammed is to stop, pause, and look for warning signs, McGovern said. If you feel like something is off, there’s a chance that it probably is.
Law enforcement agencies have also reported a rise in “porch pirate” activity, where thieves will steal a package delivered to someone’s front porch. North Carolina Attorney General John Stein said in a holiday scam warning that it’s important to track packages and make sure that you are home when they are delivered.
You can also set the delivery address to a neighbor’s house who is home during the day, send the package to your workplace, or ask the post office to hold your mail and collect the deliveries there, Stein said.
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