Fraud is a huge problem across the world. We’re losing over £1.3 billion a year through scams and fraud and I don’t want you to be one of them.
Christmas is prime time for fraudsters. It’s an emotional time for many and a time when most people are buying gifts.
With that in mind, I have collected the 5 most prominent Christmas scams in the hope you can identify and avoid them this year.
1. Fake delivery messages
As many of us order online at Christmas, we will likely see more courier deliveries than usual.
Fake delivery messages can be in the form of email, texts or even WhatsApp messages and can be very convincing. If you’re already expecting a parcel, and who isn’t this time of year, you’re already primed for this one.
The messages will pretend to be from Amazon, DPD, DHL, Post Office FedEx, UPS or one of the larger delivery firms. They can include logos and look very real.
That’s why you must be extra careful.
The message will contain some content about needing to arrange delivery or pay for customs.
The delivery scams will usually contain a link or a file and the message will try to get you to click the link or read the file.
Only the file is malware. The link will take you to an infected website where the malware will automatically download.
The customs or postage paid scams work slightly differently. They will tell you postage is mostly paid but a balance of a few pounds needs to be paid before delivery.
This is a simpler scam that’s mainly after your money.
2. Family in need or ‘Hi Mum’ scam
The family in need or ‘Hi Mum’ scam as it’s also known is another seasonal classic.
You’ll receive a message via SMS or WhatsApp supposedly from your child telling you they have lost or damaged their phone. They are in the phone shop or have just had to use their rent money to buy a new phone.
That explains why you don’t recognise the number.
They will ask to borrow an amount of money to help pay the rent or pay for the phone and use very emotive language.
This scam has been cleverly thought out and uses our natural desire to look after our children. Most of us will have had this type of message for real in the past so will know this is possible.
But it’s a scam.
If in doubt, contact your child another way. Through a partner, flatmate, landline if they have one or any way other than your phone.
It’s a scam but I also know some parents will want to make sure…
3. New toy store scam
The new toy store scam comes in a variety of flavours but is mainly centred on toys towards Christmas.
A new store appears online selling all the latest must-have toys at very competitive prices. The website will say the website is new but the company is well-established or backed by a household name.
This is sometimes true but is most often a scam.
If you’re buying for Christmas online, use a trusted retailer. While I hesitate to suggest using a large retailer rather than a local one, there are times when it’s the right thing to do.
If you cannot get into town to support a local business and need to buy gifts online, do it with a retailer you trust.
Thousands of these new website scams appear every year at Black Friday and at Christmas so you need to be aware.
If you want to support a new business, read reviews, check online and perform some research first.
It won’t guarantee you won’t get scammed but it will lower the chances. Then, always pay by credit card. Especially if you’re buying expensive gifts.
4. Fake money off vouchers
The fake voucher scam has been around for years. But this year above any other in recent history is when more people will fall for it.
You’ll receive an email offering vouchers off your grocery shop at well-known supermarkets. They will pretend to be from all our major stores including Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose, Lidl, Aldi and others.
Each voucher will contain a link where you must register and claim the money off voucher.
The link will either take you to an infected website that will download malware onto your device or try to harvest as much information on you as possible, sometimes both!
Supermarkets do offer money off vouchers over Christmas, but it pays to be cautious.
Check the supermarket website to see what promotions they are running. If you don’t see a voucher promotion mentioned, delete the message.
In fact, delete it anyway and download the voucher direct. It’s much safer!
5. Unwanted gift scam
The unwanted gift scam typically takes place just after Christmas. It comes around every year and is a variation of the fake sale or fake puppy scam.
You’ll see ads on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Gumtree and other places offering popular toys or the latest items.
They will be listed as unwanted due to being a duplicate gift or just not wanted and will be priced very competitively.
Payment will usually be via PayPal or sometimes crypto and the item will be posted to you.
But it won’t of course because it’s fake. There is no unwanted gift. It’s a scam.
There are dozens of variations of this. The completely fake item scam or non-existent puppy scam (we saw lots of these during the pandemic).
Avoiding Christmas scams
Christmas is traditionally a time of year when scammers crawl out of the woodwork and ply their nefarious trade.
It’s a process as old as Christmas itself and won’t change anytime soon.
What I would like you to take away from this is that you should be aware of scams, but not afraid of them.
Use the following warning signs to identify the vast majority of scams. Share the knowledge and use them whenever you’re shopping online.
Look for:
Poor spelling, grammar and word choice. Many scams come from abroad and the English can be low quality. A legitimate company is unlikely to send a message with errors.
Low quality logo or images. If the email or message contains a logo or image, it can sometimes be blurry or look odd. Again, a legitimate company would make sure they are represented well and wouldn’t send substandard imagery.
Asking inappropriate questions. If a message is asking questions you wouldn’t expect, like a retailer asking your date or birth or bank asking for your PIN number, it’s likely a scam.
Threats of account closure or sanction without immediate action. Many scams try to panic you into acting with threats that your account may be closed, your payment suspended or something else unless you act immediately. Most businesses just don’t work that way.
Unlikely messages. If you haven’t ordered anything from Amazon, they are unlikely to contact you for a delivery (unless it’s a gift). The same for couriers, banks you don’t do business with, credit cards you don’t have and so on.
If you’re unsure about an email or message you receive, check separately from that message. Don’t click any links, download any files or call any numbers contained within the message.
Check your Amazon account directly in your browser without clicking a link. Log onto your bank or credit card provider directly or call them using the number on their website.
If you’re ever unsure, delete.
If it’s a legitimate company, they will contact you again or try another way. They appreciate the risk of scams as much as you do and won’t just cut you off or suspend your account without some form of action from you.
