Prepare Your Older Members for Holiday Scam Season
By Todd Rovak, CEO, Carefull
November 5, 2024
The hustle and bustle of the holidays is the peak season for scammers, especially those targeting older adults online. This makes it a crucial time for credit unions to help their members stay vigilant and aware of common scams, empowering them to protect themselves from deceptive tactics aiming to take advantage.
Raising awareness about common Black Friday and holiday scams is an effective way to help your older members steer clear of them. Those who know about particular scams are 80% less likely to interact with those scams, according to FINRA research.
Share the scams below that are circulating this holiday season with your members and frontline staff to keep everyone as educated, and safe, as possible.
Top 10 Holiday Scams
Social media ads: Social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram can contain ads for popular items that are deeply discounted. Avoid clicking on those ads because they could be scam sites that send inferior products, counterfeit items or nothing at all, according to the Better Business Bureau. Search online for reviews of the company offering the deal. Better yet, visit trusted retailers' sites to see if they're offering a discount on the product.
Lookalike retail websites: Scammers create websites that mimic trusted retailers' sites to trick consumers into shopping on them. If you receive emails or text messages that supposedly are from retailers or see ads online for deals, pay attention to the spelling of the retailer’s name in the link. It might appear to be a link for a retailer you know, but if the name is slightly misspelled (such as Amaz0n with a zero), don’t click on the link. The best action is to avoid clicking on any links in emails or online ads. Instead, go directly to a retailer’s website to search for deals.
Shipping scams: Don’t click on any links in text messages that appear to come from the U.S. Postal Service or shipping companies. These messages typically claim that the company is having trouble delivering a package. However, the links lead to a form that requires your personal information, which will be stolen. Or they could trigger the downloading of malware.
Fake travel booking sites: Scammers create websites that look like official travel booking sites. When travelers search online for flights or hotels in cities they plan to visit, these sites pop up in the search results – and the prices tend to be too good to resist. However, people who have booked travel through these sites have discovered that they were charged much more than the advertised price, that reservations weren't actually made in their names, and they couldn't get a refund, according to BBB. Rather than chance landing on a fake site, go directly to hotel and airline sites or reputable third-party booking sites such as Expedia and Priceline.
Alerts about compromised accounts: Beware of emails and text messages about unusual or fraudulent activity on your financial institution account or another account, such as Amazon, Netflix, PayPal or Venmo. The links in these messages will take you to websites that ask for personal information, which scammers will use to access your account. If you’re worried that there might be suspicious activity on your account, contact the company directly by calling the number on its website. Don’t call a number provided to you in an email or text message.
Free gift cards: Watch out for emails with offers for free or discounted gift cards—even if the emails appear to come from legitimate companies. Scammers send these phishing emails in an attempt to get personal information. This scam also can appear as a text message with a link to claim a free gift card or prize. Never click on the links or respond to these messages. They might download malware onto a computer or device or lead to a fake site that aims to steal the user's personal information.
Fake charities: Scammers take advantage of people’s generosity during the holiday season by creating fake charities or pretending to be people in need. Be wary of any organization that pressures you to make a donation on the spot, requests to be paid in cash, by gift card or wire transfer, that won’t provide specifics about how your money will be used or promises you will win a sweepstakes if you donate.
Research organizations before giving by searching online for the name of the organization and the words “complaint,” “review” or “scam.” Find out if the charity is registered in your state by checking with the state’s charity regulator. And get reports on charities and their ratings at organizations such as Charity Navigator and CharityWatch.
Seasonal job scams: For those looking for seasonal work, watch out for job scams. Scammers will ask for payment upfront for job supplies or training fees or for personal information before hiring you, according to the BBB. Some will send checks to cover job-related costs and then ask the recipient to send a portion of the payment back, but the checks will be fake. Scammers also might offer high wages for simple tasks or offer to hire you without an interview. All of these are red flags that the job offer is fake.
Boss text scams: A text message from your boss asking you to buy gift cards for clients or send money through a payment app could be the beginning of a scam. Scammers are even taking advantage of AI to replicate voices in phone calls and images in video calls. They'll try to get users to act quickly by claiming that it is an urgent request or possibly threatening repercussions. Before responding, though, reach out directly to the person making the request using another contact method, such as email, to find out if the request is real.
Social media gift exchanges: Don’t be tempted to join a gift exchange online with people you haven’t met. This scam pops up annually, often called a Secret Sister gift exchange and promising that participants will receive up to 36 gifts, according to BBB. Other versions include purchasing $10 gifts online, submitting your email to a list to pick a name and send money to a stranger to “pay it forward,” and sending a gift for a “Secret Santa Dog”. All versions require providing personal information and often the contact information of other family and friends. And it’s meant to trick people into sending gifts or money to strangers.
How to Avoid Holiday Scams
Being aware of common scams can help you avoid them. However, scammers are always coming up with new tactics, here is a list of the scams to expect this holiday season:
- Beware of deals that are too good to be true. Unreasonably low prices—especially on hard-to-find items – are a red flag for scams.
- Stick with retailers you trust. One of the best ways to avoid scams is to shop only with well-known retailers. If you see deals advertised online for retailers you’re not familiar with, search the company names online along with the word “reviews,” “scam” or “complaint.” Also, visit BBB.org to see reviews of companies.
- Don't click on links in emails or text messages, even if they appear to come from trusted retailers. Visit retailers’ sites directly to see if you can find the deal that you’ve been notified about. And if you’ve ordered items online, use the package tracking information that you were provided in your purchase confirmation email.
- Don’t click on ads for discounted items. Instead, go directly to the retailer’s site. If you don’t find the advertised deals on the official site, the ad likely was fake.
- Make sure websites are legitimate and secure by checking the URL for misspellings and extra letters or characters (for example, a fake Dick's Sporting Goods URL might appear as d-sportinggoods). Look for https:// and a padlock symbol. Also, look for customer service contact information. If you can't find any or if it directs you to a generic email address, avoid making purchases from that site.
- Use a credit card for online purchases. Credit cards offer more protections than other forms of payment if you need to get your money back for fraudulent transactions and for purchases that merchants aren’t willing to refund.
- Monitor financial institutions and credit card accounts for unauthorized charges. There’s still a chance that scammers could get your credit or debit card information even if you take the steps above to stay safe. A service such as Carefull can provide 24/7 monitoring of checking, savings and credit card accounts for unusual or fraudulent transactions, as well as credit and identity monitoring.
Want to pass this info along to your members and frontline staff? Download an infographic that summarizes what to watch out for.
Connect with Carefull to learn more.
About Carefull
Carefull is a PRT (protect/retain/transfer) service for credit unions purpose-built to protect older members, retain deposits, and bridge to the next generation ahead of wealth transfer. It is the first and only digital platform designed to help credit unions protect the daily finances of seniors while assisting the adult children who often support them.