Every year, scammers steal millions from holiday shoppers. This guide covers the most common scams—fake websites that mimic real retailers, pressure-inducing limited-time deals, phishing emails and social media ads, and post-purchase shipping scams—along with practical steps to protect yourself. Share this with older family members, who are often targeted. By staying vigilant and following these security tips, you can shop safely and keep your personal information protected during the holidays.

Quick Summary for Busy Readers

Holiday shopping brings peak season for scammers. The most common tricks include fake websites that look identical to real retailers (always check the URL), impossibly deep discounts designed to create urgency, phishing emails and social media ads that steal payment information, and fake shipping notifications requesting additional payment. Protect yourself by using credit cards with fraud protection, enabling two-factor authentication, and calling the retailer directly if anything feels suspicious. This matters especially for older family members—share this article with grandparents and elderly relatives who are frequent targets of holiday shopping scams.

The holidays bring increased shopping, increased urgency, and unfortunately, increased opportunities for scammers. When you’re rushing to find the perfect gift or taking advantage of holiday deals, it’s easy to let your guard down. Understanding the most common holiday shopping scams can help you protect your wallet and your identity during the season of giving. And if you have older relatives who enjoy online shopping, they especially need this guidance.

Holiday Shopping Scams: Main Points at a Glance

• Fake websites that mimic legitimate retailers are the most common holiday scam. Always check the URL carefully and type retailer names directly into your browser instead of clicking links from ads or emails.

• Impossibly good deals and limited-time offers are classic scam tactics designed to create urgency and pressure you into making quick decisions without verification.

• Phishing emails and social media ads target you based on your browsing history and interests, leading to fake websites or pages designed to steal your payment information and identity.

• Fake shipping notifications can arrive after your purchase, requesting additional payment or information. Always verify by going directly to the retailer’s official website or calling their customer service.

• Use credit cards instead of debit cards for online shopping, enable two-factor authentication on accounts, and create unique strong passwords for each retailer.

• Call the retailer directly if anything feels suspicious. Trust your instincts—no deal is worth the risk of identity theft and fraud.

• Share this information with older family members who are frequently targeted by scammers. Your vigilance can protect grandparents and elderly relatives from financial and emotional harm.

• AI-powered scams are now a major threat. Scammers use artificial intelligence to generate realistic fake websites, product photos, and marketing copy at scale. Deepfakes (AI-generated videos and audio) are being used to impersonate companies and even family members asking for payment or account information.

• Be suspicious of unsolicited contact from companies requesting payment or account verification. Legitimate companies rarely initiate these calls or messages. If contacted, hang up and call the official number from the company’s website directly.

• Verify important communications through multiple channels. If you receive a suspicious video call from a “family member,” call them back on a number you know. When something feels off about a conversation or video, trust your instinct—scammers are getting smarter. Create an internal passphrase or have them say a memory that only the members of the family would know.

The Classic Fake Website Scam

The most prevalent holiday scam involves fake websites that look almost identical to legitimate retailers. A scammer will create a site that mimics the real thing down to the logo, layout, and product photos. The URL might be subtly different—like using a zero instead of the letter O, or changing a single letter in the domain name. You click on an ad (maybe even a legitimate-looking one on social media), land on what appears to be the real site, and complete your purchase. Days later, you realize the product never arrived and your credit card has been compromised.

The give-away is often in the URL. Pause before entering payment information. Type the retailer’s name directly into your browser rather than clicking links from social media ads or emails. Legitimate companies typically use “https://” (note the “s” for secure) in their web addresses. Look for the lock icon in your browser’s address bar—it signals an encrypted connection.

Limited-Time Deals That Create Pressure

Scammers understand that holiday shoppers are driven by urgency. They’ll advertise ridiculous discounts on in-demand items: the latest gaming console at 70% off, designer handbags for a fraction of retail price, or exclusive products “while supplies last.” The messaging plays on FOMO (fear of missing out). You see the countdown timer, the “Only 3 left in stock” warning, and the pressure mounts.

Real retailers do have holiday sales, of course. The difference is that legitimate deals usually still represent reasonable price reductions—maybe 20-40% off—and the pricing is consistent with what you’d see at the actual company’s official store. If a deal seems almost unbelievably good, it probably is.

Social Media Ads and Phishing

Scammers are sophisticated advertisers. They target you with ads based on your browsing history, purchase patterns, and interests. If you viewed a particular product online, you might suddenly see an ad for it at a discount price. The ad leads to a fake website or a phishing page designed to collect your payment and personal information.

Be skeptical of social media ads, especially for hot-ticket holiday items. Search for reviews of the company before buying. If the “retailer” has no reviews, no real social media presence beyond the ads, or suspicious reviews, walk away. Check the company’s official website directly rather than clicking ad links. And never provide personal information like your Social Security number or driver’s license details for an online purchase—legitimate retailers never ask for these.

Shipping and Delivery Scams

Even after checkout, scammers aren’t done. You might receive a fake shipping notification claiming your package requires additional payment or information to complete delivery. The link in the message directs you to a fake tracking page where you’re prompted to enter your credit card details. Or you might get contacted with a warning that your package was suspicious and needs verification.

If you receive unexpected payment requests or tracking alerts that seem off, go directly to the retailer’s official website or call their customer service number (use the one from their official site, not a number in the suspicious message). Don’t click links in unsolicited texts or emails, even if they look official.

The New Threat: AI-Powered Scams and Deepfakes

Scammers are now using artificial intelligence at scale to make their fraud more convincing and harder to detect. AI tools allow them to generate realistic product photos, write persuasive copy, and create entire fake storefronts in minutes rather than hours. But the threat goes deeper than that.

Deepfake technology—AI that creates convincing fake videos or audio—is being weaponized during the holidays. You might receive a video call or audio message that appears to be from a company’s customer service, a shipping company, or even someone claiming to be a family member asking for help. The voice or video looks authentic because AI generated it. These deepfakes convince people to provide credit card information, passwords, or verification codes they wouldn’t normally share.

Another emerging tactic involves AI chatbots that mimic legitimate customer service. You contact what you think is the retailer’s support team, but you’re actually talking to an AI bot designed to extract information or convince you to “verify” your account by providing sensitive details.

How do you protect yourself? Be even more cautious about unsolicited contact—legitimate companies rarely initiate calls asking for payment or account information. If someone calls claiming to be from a retailer or shipping company, hang up and call the official number from the company’s website directly. Verify important communications through multiple channels. If you get a suspicious video call from a “family member,” call them back on a number you know. When something feels off about a conversation, trust that instinct. Scammers are getting smarter and more sophisticated, which means you need to be more vigilant than ever.

How to Shop Safely This Holiday Season

Use credit cards rather than debit cards for online shopping. Credit card companies typically offer better fraud protection, and you have more recourse if charges are disputed. Check your statements regularly, even during the busy holiday weeks catching fraud early makes a real difference.

Enable two-factor authentication on your shopping accounts whenever it’s available. Create unique, strong passwords for retail websites so that if one account is compromised, others remain secure. Consider using a password manager to keep track of these without writing them down.

When in doubt, call the retailer directly using the phone number from their official website. If something about a deal or a website feels off—if the layout is slightly wrong, the prices seem impossible, or the messaging feels overly urgent—trust that instinct. No deal is worth the hassle of fraudulent charges and identity theft recovery.

The holidays should be about enjoying time with people you care about, not spending January dealing with stolen credentials and fraudulent charges. A few extra seconds of caution when shopping online can save you weeks of headache later.

This holiday season, stay vigilant—and help others do the same. At NVITS, we believe that security awareness is everyone’s responsibility. Share this article with your grandparents, parents, and older relatives who may be new to online shopping or less familiar with scam tactics. Many scammers specifically target older adults, so your vigilance in spreading this message could protect someone you love from financial loss and the emotional stress that comes with identity theft.