Christmas is meant to be joyful, but for scammers, it’s open season. They treat the holidays like the Super Bowl of scams.
As spending ramps up and inboxes overflow with “unmissable” deals, fraudsters work overtime to steal your money and personal data. They lurk everywhere: emails, text messages, social media feeds, and even search results.
Below, we break down the 8 most common Christmas scams, how they work, and what you should watch out for to stay safe this holiday season.
Table of Contents
1. Scammers Pretending to Be Authorities
Scam Type: Business or Government Impersonation
How it Works:
Scammers pretend to be trusted organizations — banks, utility companies, tech support, or government agencies.
They contact you claiming there’s a serious issue:
- Suspicious account activity
- Overdue payments
- Legal trouble
- Lost benefits
They push you to act fast and provide personal details or payment.
Here’s the Truth:
Legitimate businesses and government agencies don’t contact you out of nowhere, insisting on urgent action or immediate payment.
Why It Matters:
These scams are often very convincing. Falling for one can lead to identity theft, emptied bank accounts, and long-term financial consequences that are difficult to fix.
What to Do:
If something doesn’t feel right, stop and verify it yourself. Find the organization’s official phone number or website independently — never trust contact details provided in the message.
2. Fake Charities
Scam Type: Charity Fraud / Impersonation
How it Works:
The FCC warns people to be cautious of calls and texts requesting charitable donations, especially during the holidays. Scammers often impersonate real charities or create fake ones, claiming to help children, disaster victims, or families in need.
They use urgency and emotional pressure across phone calls, emails, social media, and crowdfunding platforms — often for charities that don’t exist or where only a small part of the donation goes to a real cause.
Here’s the Truth:
Trusted charities won’t insist on immediate donations or demand payment through gift cards, crypto, or wire transfers.
Why It Matters:
Your generosity is exploited, and real causes receive less support. Once donated, the money is usually unrecoverable.
What to Do:
The FCC recommends researching charities before donating and supporting only verified organizations. Always check phone numbers and text-to-donate requests on the charity’s official website, and carefully verify social media or crowdfunding appeals before making a donation.
3. Phony Delivery and Package Alerts
Scam Type: Delivery Impersonation / Phishing
How It Works:
During the holiday shopping season, scammers send fake delivery texts or emails that appear to come from popular shipping companies or online stores. These messages claim there’s an issue with your package and are designed to look convincing.
Common messages include:
- “Your package cannot be delivered.”
- “Delivery attempt failed.”
- “Click here to confirm shipping details.”
According to the FBI, scammers often disguise fake delivery notifications as “urgent” messages. The language is meant to trigger panic and push you to click before you have time to think. Once clicked, the link leads to a fake website that steals personal information, login credentials, or payment details.
Here’s the Truth:
Real delivery companies don’t demand urgent action or ask you to confirm personal details through random links.
Why It Matters:
Because many people are waiting for packages during the holidays, these scams are easy to fall for and can result in lost money, stolen data, or identity theft.
What to Do:
Don’t click on delivery links. Instead, check your order directly through the retailer’s or carrier’s official website or app. If the alert is real, it will appear there too.
4. Gift Card Payment Scams
Scam Type: Payment Fraud / Impersonation
How It Works:
Scammers often pose as companies, government agencies, employers, or even family members. They create a sense of urgency — claiming a problem with an account, payment, or personal emergency — and instruct victims to buy gift cards and share the codes.
Once the codes are sent, the money is immediately stolen. These scams spread through calls, texts, emails, and social media, and peak during the holidays when gift cards are common.
Here’s the Truth:
Official organizations don’t request payment via gift cards. Gift cards are for gifts — not fees, bills, or emergencies.
Why It Matters:
Gift card payments are almost impossible to recover, and victims often lose large sums of money.
What to Do:
If someone demands payment with gift cards, stop immediately. Do not share codes. Verify all urgent requests through official contact channels and report suspected scams promptly.
5. Fake Online Stores and Unreal Deals
Scam Type: E-Commerce Fraud / Fake Retail Websites
How It Works:
During the Christmas shopping rush, scammers set up realistic-looking online stores offering big discounts on popular gifts. These sites are often promoted via social media ads, search results, or emails, and closely imitate trusted brands.
After payment, items may never arrive, turn out to be low-quality fakes, or the website may disappear, sometimes after also harvesting payment details for future fraud. According to Visa, fake retail websites are among the most common scams consumers should watch for during the holiday shopping season.
Here’s the Truth:
Legitimate retailers don’t hide contact information, rely on constant “last-chance” pressure, or ask for unusual payment methods like wire transfers or crypto.
Why It Matters:
Shoppers lose money, expose sensitive payment data, and may face follow-up fraud long after the holidays are over.
What to Do:
Verify online stores before buying. Check the website URL, read independent reviews, confirm contact details, and use secure payment methods. Be wary of deals that seem too good to be true and stick to trusted retailers, especially during Christmas.
6. Holiday Travel and Rental Listings That Don’t Exist
Scam Type: Travel Fraud / Fake Rental Listings
How it Works:
Holiday travelers are a common target for scammers advertising fake rentals or travel deals at very low prices. They claim limited availability or high demand to push quick decisions and convince victims to pay outside official booking platforms. After payment, the listing vanishes, or the property turns out to be fake.
Here’s the Truth:
Reputable travel companies and well-known booking platforms use secure, traceable payment systems and give customers time to review details before confirming a reservation.
Why It Matters:
You can lose a significant amount of money and end up without accommodation during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
What to Do:
Use trusted booking platforms only, carefully check reviews and host history, keep all payments within the official system, and stay cautious of holiday offers with unusually steep discounts or vague details.
7. Seasonal Job Offers That Aren’t Real
Scam Type: Employment Fraud
How it Works:
As reported by Fox 29, scammers exploit the holiday hiring surge by posting deceptive job listings for roles like warehouse helpers, gift packers, customer support agents, and remote assistants, luring applicants with promises of quick hiring, high pay, and flexible schedules.
Once you respond, they may ask for personal information, charge upfront “training” and “equipment” fees, send fake checks and demand refunds, or push the conversation off official platforms.
Here’s the Truth:
Legitimate employers don’t charge fees, rush the process, or request sensitive details before formal hiring.
Why It Matters:
Victims may lose money and have their personal information used for fraud, such as opening accounts or taking out loans in their name.
What to Do:
Verify the company independently, avoid paying any fees, and apply only through official websites or trusted job platforms.
8. Social Media Marketplace Scams
Scam Type: Social Commerce Fraud / Fake Sellers
How It Works:
Scammers post fake listings on social media marketplaces for popular Christmas gifts at tempting prices. Using stolen photos and newly created or fake profiles, they create a sense of urgency and ask for payment outside the platform’s secure checkout. Once paid, the seller disappears or sends nothing — or a counterfeit item.
Here’s the Truth:
Trusted marketplace sellers use built-in checkout systems and give buyers time to make informed decisions.
Why It Matters:
Shoppers lose money intended for Christmas gifts and may share personal details that can later be exploited for additional fraud.
What to Do:
Buy only through official marketplace checkouts, review seller history and ratings, and never send money via direct transfers or private messages, especially during the holiday season.
Common Red Flags Across All Christmas Scams
- Unexpected messages about problems, prizes, or urgent actions
- Requests for payment via gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency
- Links or attachments that lead to unfamiliar or poorly designed websites
- Senders asking you to share personal, login, or payment information
- Deals, donations, or offers that sound unusually generous or unrealistic
- Requests to move conversations off official platforms to private messages
- Poor grammar, mismatched URLs, or incorrect sender details
Futureproof tracks your data for leaks 24/7, helping you stay one step ahead of online threats during the holidays and beyond. Get started today and protect your info year-round.
Awareness Is Your Best Holiday Defense
The holidays should be about celebration, generosity, and peace of mind — not stress or financial loss. Understanding the most common Christmas scams and spotting the warning signs early puts you in a far stronger position to avoid them.
Staying informed is one of the best ways to protect yourself, your money, and your holiday cheer — and we are here to help you do exactly that.
At Futureproof, Kevin makes online safety feel human with clear steps, real examples, and zero fluff. He holds a degree in information technology and studies fraud trends to keep his tips up-to-date.
In his free time, Kevin plays with his cat, enjoys board-game nights, and hunts for New York’s best cinnamon rolls.
