What Holiday Scammers Are Doing This Season

SecurityScorecard CISO Steve Cobb joined FOX Houston to discuss how shoppers can protect themselves from a growing wave of online holiday scams. During the segment, Cobb outlined the most common scam tactics SecurityScorecard sees emerging this season, from malware to mimicked retail websites.

“We’re seeing scammers do things like stand up fake websites that look exactly like a retailer’s website, even to the point that you go to the same page to shop and go to the same page to log in and enter your credit card details,” Cobb said. “They’re mimicking retailers and stealing that credit card information or maybe even installing malware on a computer so they can steal your other passwords off your computer as well.”

Cobb walked through key red flags to watch for, platforms with which to exercise caution, and offered clear steps consumers can take if they think they’ve been targeted.

Watch the full segment here:

Red Flags to Watch Out For

Scammers take advantage of the sense of urgency that comes with last-minute gift buying, Cobb noted. They count on consumers letting their guard down and rushing to click, buy, or enter credit card details.

Cobb emphasized the need to slow down and think critically, especially when deals look too good to be true.

“Anytime that a deal is too good to be true, it probably is,” Cobb shared. “I would caution people that when they’re trying to do last minute shopping and scammers are using techniques like saying, ‘this is the last item,’ or ‘You’ve only got 30 minutes left to buy it,’ or all those kinds of shopping pressure shopping tactics that retailers use, scammers use them well to get people to click on the link or put their credit card details somewhere they shouldn’t.”

Social media platforms that point to retailers are also common launch points for scams during the holiday season, Cobb warned.

“People need to watch out if they’re buying things off TikTok or Instagram or other places where they’re being led to another site. You need to verify that the site is really a good site and check the URL,” Cobb said. “Do the things that you should do anyway when you get a phishing email: Check that the link is going to the right place, that it’s a regular retailer. Go close the tab and go open a new tab and go directly to the retailer. All those things are things you can use to try to protect yourself from these scammers.”

What To Do If You Think You’ve Been Scammed

If you suspect you entered your information into a fraudulent website, act quickly to limit the damage. Cobb laid out several critical steps:

• Change your passwords immediately if you entered them on a suspicious or fake website.
• Freeze your credit card through your bank or credit card provider’s online portal.
• Check with your bank to see if they offer fraud alerts or a dedicated fraud center.
• Use available tools to lock or disable your card so scammers can’t misuse stolen data.

Stay Safe This Holiday Season Shopping Online

Whether you’re shopping from your desktop or scrolling on your phone, the risks are higher during the holidays. Scammers use urgency, emotion, and deception to get past your defenses. But a few cautious habits, like verifying URLs, avoiding too-good-to-be-true deals, and going directly to trusted sites, can make all the difference.

Watch the second segment of the FOX Houston interview to get SecurityScorecard CISO Steve Cobb’s take on how scammers operate and how to keep yourself safe this holiday season.

**For media inquiries or to speak with a SecurityScorecard cybersecurity expert, please contact us **here.