The holidays bring a rush of activities from wrapping up projects to managing year-end budgets and taking care of clients before the new year. Unfortunately, criminals recognize this busy, distracted, and fast-paced season as the perfect time to attack, bringing an increase in cyberattacks.
From fake invoices to fraudulent charity campaigns, these scams can drain your finances and damage your reputation in a matter of minutes. Knowing what to look for is the first step in staying protected.
1. Your Boss Needs Gift Cards
- The scam: Impostors pose as owners or managers and pressure staff to buy gift cards for clients or for employee appreciation. In Q1 2024 alone, 37.9% of business email compromise incidents were gift card schemes.
- Prevention: Create a company policy. No gift cards without two approvals. Train employees that executives will never request them via text.
2. Invoice & Payment Switch-Ups
- The scam: Fraudsters send updated banking details or hijack vendor email threads right when year-end bills are due. In June 2024, the Town of Arlington, MA, lost nearly half a million dollars this way.
- Prevention: Confirm any banking changes with a known phone number, never the one in the email. Adopt a phone call rule for all financial changes over $5,000.
3. Fake Shipping & Delivery Notices
- The scam: Phishing emails or texts pose as UPS/FedEx/USPS with links to “reschedule delivery.”
- Prevention: Train staff to type the carrier’s site directly into the browser. Bookmark official tracking pages to avoid clickbait links.
4. Malicious Holiday Party Attachments
- The scam: Emails with attachments like “Holiday_Schedule.pdf” or “Party_List.xls” that install malware when opened.
- Prevention: Block macros, scan attachments, and make verifying unexpected files part of your culture.
5. Bogus Holiday Fundraisers
- The scam: Phishing sites mimic charities or fake company match campaigns to steal money or data.
- Prevention: Share an approved charity list and require all donations to flow through official portals.
Why These Attacks Work & How to Stop Them
The same tools that make business efficient—like email, online banking, and digital payments—are exactly what scammers exploit. They’re sophisticated attacks blending social engineering with research on your company.
Organizations that run regular phishing simulations reduce risk by 60%, yet most small businesses never train employees. Multifactor authentication blocks 99% of unauthorized logins, yet many firms still rely solely on passwords.
Here’s what to do before the holidays hit full swing:
- The Two-Person Rule: Any transaction above your set threshold requires verbal confirmation through a separate channel.
- Gift Card Policy: Put in writing: No gift cards via email or text.
- Vendor Verification: Confirm all banking or payment changes by phone using numbers already on file.
- Multifactor Authentication: Enable MFA on all email, banking, and cloud accounts.
- Holiday Awareness: Brief your team on these five scams with real examples.
Keep Your Holidays Merry, Not Messy
The holidays should be about growth and celebration, not cleaning up wire fraud. A staff huddle, a handful of smart policies, and a few layered protections go a long way toward keeping criminals out of your books.
Want to make sure your team is locked down before the New Year?
Book a quick consultation call with us, and we’ll walk you through quick, practical steps to keep your business safe. Don’t let cybercriminals steal your holiday success. The best gift you can give your business this holiday season is peace of mind.
