The holiday season can mean big purchases. But whether you're shopping online on Cyber Monday or braving the crowds on Black Friday, the holiday season also means scammers are out in force, trying to turn your gift-giving spirit into their financial gain (and possibly your financial loss).

According to a 2024 report, nearly half (48%) of U.S. consumers reported being targeted by a scam while holiday shopping online.^1,2 Another study shows that the total losses from identity fraud and scams reached a staggering $47 billion in 2024.³ The risk is real, but a little knowledge can go a long way.

As an Equifax company, we at ID Watchdog are constantly monitoring the evolving fraud landscape to help better protect our members. We know a thing or two about the dangers lurking in your inbox and on those "too good to be true" social media ads.

In this guide, we'll outline some of the most common holiday shopping scams, provide practical tips for more secure online buying, and explain why identity protection can be vital. By the time you're finished, you'll be able to better identify key red flags and have the tools to help keep your personal and financial information safer this holiday season.

The Scams to Watch Out For

Scammers leverage sophisticated phishing, fake websites, and social engineering to target distracted shoppers. They often try to steal personal information (like your login credentials, credit card numbers, and passwords), which can lead to identity theft and fraud down the line.

Here are a few of the most prevalent holiday scams to keep a skeptical eye on.

Fake Delivery Notifications

• This is a prevalent scam that intensifies during the holidays.¹ Victims receive a text or email (known as "smishing" or "phishing") impersonating a delivery service like the U.S. Postal Service^® or UPS^®. The message claims there's a problem with your delivery and asks you to click a link to reschedule or update your information. The link, however, is often a phishing attempt designed to steal your personal data or install malware.¹

Too-Good-To-Be-True Deals and Fake Sites

• Whether on a search engine or on social media, criminals advertise high-demand items at deeply discounted, unrealistic prices.^8,9 Clicking the link takes you to a bogus website that mimics a legitimate retailer.⁴ These scam merchants either send you nothing (non-delivery scam) or a counterfeit item, all while stealing your payment information. Losses from non-payment and non-delivery scams exceeded $309 million in 2023.6

Gift Card Payment Demands

• A scammer, often impersonating a legitimate entity, demands that you pay for a service or goods using gift cards. Gift cards are difficult to trace, making them a preferred payment method for criminals. Typically, you should not pay for services with a debit or gift card; this can be a sign of fraud.⁵

Fraudulent Social Media Posts and Ads

• Many scams start simply by clicking an ad on social media.⁴ These ads can often lead to fake storefronts or surveys designed to capture your personal information. Nearly half of U.S. consumers expressed concern about AI shopping scams in 2024,⁴ showing how quickly these digital threats are evolving.

Three Tips for More Secure Online Shopping

Don't let the rush of the season lead to careless clicks. A few mindful practices can help you improve your defense against holiday fraud.

Stop, Think, and Verify

• If you receive an unexpected or urgent message about an account problem or a missed delivery, you probably shouldn’t respond immediately. Scammers try to create a sense of urgency to bypass your critical thinking. Instead, call the company directly using a number you know is official (from the back of your card, their official website, or a trusted app), not the number or link provided in the suspicious message.

Use a Credit Card for Purchases

• When shopping online, you can use a credit card instead of a debit card.⁵ Credit cards typically offer significantly more fraud protections. Most credit card companies offer zero-liability for most unauthorized transactions.³

Harden Your Digital Defenses

• Make it a habit to use strong, unique passwords and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all your sensitive accounts (especially banking, email, and social media). MFA creates an extra layer of security. Also, ensure security software is updated on computers, tablets, and cell phones.²

Why Identity Theft Protection Is Essential During the Holidays

The holidays are a prime time for fraudsters. Every online purchase or swipe at a point-of-sale device is another opportunity for a criminal to try and capture your financial information. In fact, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) tends to see a large volume of complaints in the early months of each year, suggesting a direct correlation with the previous holiday shopping season's scams.⁶

Whether you're shopping online or in-store, digital skimming attacks and point-of-sale skimming are common tactics used to steal your data during this busy season. This is where a proactive identity theft protection service like ID Watchdog can help you by providing powerful resources.

24/7/365 Monitoring and Alerts

• We constantly watch the dark web, public records, and high-risk transaction networks for your exposed information. If a threat is detected, you receive an alert, allowing you to act faster to try and head off identity theft before it turns into financial fraud.

Proactive Tools

• Features like our Subprime Loan Block help identify and possibly prevent fraudsters from opening certain types of loans in your name within our monitored network.

Protection and Restoration

• Should you or a family member become a victim, our plans include assisted identity restoration, which means certified specialists will help you manage your case until your identity is restored. We also offer Identity Theft Insurance to help reimburse certain eligible expenses. Our Platinum Plus and Ultimate plans also include Cyber Crime Coverage for reimbursement of funds lost due to online scams and cyber extortion.

Putting Knowledge into Action

By now, you should be able to better identify the key scams that target holiday shoppers, from fake delivery texts7 to suspicious social media deals.⁴ You're armed with the knowledge of shopping more securely this season.

Just remember that even the most careful holiday shoppers can be vulnerable to large data breaches and sophisticated phishing tactics.¹ That's why having a more comprehensive, always-on protection from a trusted provider like ID Watchdog isn't just nice to have; it's essential protection for your digital life. So, go forth and enjoy the savings. If you’re on one of our plans, we will help watch your back.

Sources:

1. IRS: IRS warns of holiday scams, encourages protecting sensitive personal information as 9th annual National Tax Security Awareness Week starts (IR-2024-300, Dec. 2, 2024).
2. IRS: Safety tips to remember during the holiday season and throughout the year. (From the same article as [1])
3. U.S. Department of Treasury: Seasonal Security - Protecting Yourself from Holiday Scams and Fraud
4. Gen Digital (Norton): Don't Let Scammers Steal Your Holiday Cheer: New Norton Report Reveals Nearly Half of U.S. Consumers Were Targeted by a Scam While Online Shopping (Oct. 29, 2024)
5. FBI: Holiday Scams
6. FBI: Internet Crime Complaint Center's (IC3) 2023 report. (From the same article as [5])
7. FTC: Scammers are delivering phishing messages this holiday season
8. FTC: Don't let scammers get in the way of your holiday shopping (Nov. 25, 2024)
9. FBI: FBI Warns of Growing Holiday Scam Risks in 2024 (Dec. 13, 2024)
10. AARP/Javelin Strategy & Research: Identity Fraud and Scams Cost Americans $47 Billion in 2024 (March 25, 2025)
11. Javelin Strategy & Research: 2024 Identity Fraud Study: Resolving the Shattered Identity Crisis (April 10, 2024)