Tis the season for the scammers: Experts warn of 8 ways you can be duped this holiday
How to watch out for scammers this holiday season
- Scammers are increasingly utilizing AI and dark web tools to create sophisticated fake online storefronts, chatbots and social media ads to defraud shoppers during the holiday season.
- Common scams include messages impersonating delivery services, fake e-commerce sites offering unrealistic discounts and non-delivery or non-payment schemes, which cost over $785 million in 2024.
- Smishing (SMS phishing) and malicious QR code scams are on the rise, with smishing attacks projected to increase by 122 percent in November 2025, aiming to steal personal and financial data.
- Consumers should also be wary of auction fraud, where items are misrepresented, and job scams that demand upfront payments or training fees from desperate individuals.
- Authorities advise shoppers to research unfamiliar online retailers, ensure websites use “https” and avoid paying with untraceable methods like gift cards, prepaid cards, cryptocurrency or wire transfers.