Holiday Phishing Scams: What Businesses Should Watch For

Holiday Scams Are Coming: What Fake Shipping Emails and Gift Requests Look Like

The holiday season means more packages, more online orders, and more distracted employees. Scammers know it. Messages that would look suspicious in March slide right past people in December.

The goal of most holiday scams is simple: get someone busy to click, log in, or pay before they stop to think.

The Scams to Expect

Fake shipping notices: A “delivery problem” email or text with a link to reschedule or confirm an address.

Gift card requests: A message that appears to come from the owner or a manager asking an employee to buy gift cards quickly and send the codes.

Fake invoices and payment changes: Year-end billing is a perfect cover for a bogus invoice or a “new bank account” notice.

Fake charity and e-card messages: Seasonal greetings and donation requests with links or attachments.

Shopping on work devices: Lookalike store pages that capture logins or card details.

Warning Signs

Urgency or pressure to act right now

A link or sender address that is slightly off

A request to buy gift cards or keep something quiet

A package notice for something nobody ordered

What Your Business Can Do

Remind your team now, before the busy weeks begin.

Verify unusual requests by phone using a number you already have.

Go to the source: track packages from the carrier’s own site, not from a link in a message.

Turn on multi-factor authentication so a stolen password is not enough.

Use email filtering that catches lookalike domains and known scam patterns.

Make it easy to report anything suspicious without fear of blame.

Is Your Team Ready for the Holiday Rush?

Atech Business Services helps businesses put email protection and security awareness in place so a convincing message does not become a costly mistake.