Introduction

The holiday season brings increased online shopping, package tracking, charitable giving, and travel, and with this surge in digital activity comes a significant rise in cybercrime. Threat actors understand that individuals and businesses are more distracted, more rushed, and more likely to respond quickly to messages that appear urgent or seasonal.

Recent studies highlight the seriousness of this trend.
• AARP reports that 58 percent of Americans received a fraudulent unpaid toll text in the past 12 months.
• MyComputerCareer documented a 327 percent increase in holiday-themed phishing attacks during Black Friday 2024.
• ZeroFox reports an escalation in AI-generated phishing kits that create realistic fake messages and look-alike domains at scale.

These scams target personal finances, consumer trust, and organizational email identity. Poole Technology Solutions helps organizations strengthen their communication security and prepare for the annual increase in threats targeting inboxes, text messages, and domain identities.

Why Holiday Scams Increase So Dramatically

Cybercriminals exploit human behavior. During the holidays people are shopping more, receiving more packages, traveling more, multi-tasking more, and responding faster to digital messages. This leads to lower scrutiny and higher emotional reactions to messages labeled urgent, delayed, or time-sensitive.

Scammers leverage this seasonal urgency across email, SMS, and fake websites designed to impersonate brands, charities, and government agencies.

Common Holiday Scams to Watch For

Fake Package or Delivery Notifications

These emails or texts claim that a package is delayed or requires a fee to be released. Impersonated brands frequently include USPS, UPS, FedEx, and Amazon.

TOAD Scams, Telephone Oriented Attack Delivery

TOAD begins with a fraudulent text urging the recipient to call a phone number. Once connected, attackers use social engineering to obtain banking information, account credentials, or remote device access.
Common examples include toll violations, bank alerts, tax notices, or urgent account lockouts.

Look-Alike Domain and Email Impersonation Attacks

Attackers register domains that closely resemble legitimate brands or your own business domain.
Examples include:
• amaz0n-deals.com
• fedex-delivery-status.net
• mycompany-billing.co

These domains are used to send phishing emails, host fake login pages, and impersonate business communications.

Charity and Donation Fraud

Fraudulent charities increase significantly during Giving Season, especially impersonations of children’s organizations, veteran support groups, community relief efforts, and faith-based causes.

Gift Card and Executive Impersonation Scams

Scammers impersonate supervisors, pastors, nonprofit directors, or local community leaders and request urgent gift card purchases for supposed holiday needs.

Risks for Consumers and Businesses

Consumer Risks

• Identity theft
• Credit card fraud
• Account takeovers
• Device compromise
• Loss of funds through gift cards or peer-to-peer payment scams

Business Risks

• Email spoofing targeting customers
• Employee credential theft
• Payroll or invoice fraud
• Look-alike domains damaging brand credibility
• Compromise of cloud and SaaS platforms
• Reputational harm and regulatory exposure

Best Practices for Consumers

1. Verify Before Clicking or Responding

Do not click links in unsolicited texts or emails. Instead manually visit the retailer’s website, open the retailer’s official app, or call a verified customer service number.

2. Be Skeptical of Payment Requests by Text

Government agencies and legitimate businesses do not request payment through SMS, gift cards, or urgent cash transfer apps.

3. Be Cautious of Unexpected Delivery Alerts

Most major carriers do not send rescheduling or fee-payment links by text.

4. Turn On Multi-Factor Authentication

MFA prevents account access even if a password is exposed.

5. Avoid Scanning Unknown QR Codes

QR code scams are increasingly used at holiday events, shopping centers, and community postings.

6. Use Virtual or Single-Use Credit Cards

These provide an added layer of protection against fraudulent online transactions.

7. Educate Elderly Family Members

Older adults are heavily targeted during the holiday season and benefit greatly from awareness and preparation.

Best Practices for Business Owners and Small Organizations

1. Strengthen Email Authentication

Ensure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are correctly configured and monitored. This prevents attackers from sending spoofed messages that appear to come from your business.

2. Conduct Holiday-Themed Phishing and TOAD Training

Employees should receive specific training for seasonal scams involving delivery notices, HR messages, gift card requests, invoices, and fraudulent call-back numbers.

3. Monitor for Look-Alike Domains

Poole Technology Solutions provides brand monitoring that detects newly registered domains impersonating your organization.

4. Implement SMS and Mobile Threat Awareness

TOAD attacks bypass email gateways, which means employees are often targeted on personal mobile devices. Clear internal guidance helps staff avoid calling fraudulent numbers or providing sensitive information.

5. Perform a Pre-Holiday Security Audit

Review DNS entries, forwarding rules, MFA enforcement, SaaS platform access, vendor configurations, and any unusual domain registrations.

6. Update the Incident Response Plan

Holiday schedules require updated contact lists, defined after-hours escalation pathways, and documented communication templates for rapid response.

How Poole Technology Solutions Supports Holiday Security

Email and Domain Authentication Services

• SPF, DKIM, DMARC configuration
• DKIM key rotation
• Look-alike domain detection
• Brand impersonation monitoring

Phishing, Smishing, and TOAD Awareness Training

• Seasonal phishing simulations
• Executive impersonation and social engineering training
• Text-message based threat education

System Hardening and Governance Controls

• DNS hygiene and monitoring
• Vendor risk assessment
• SaaS platform configuration reviews

Incident Response and Holiday Readiness Planning

• IR runbooks tailored to holiday schedules
• Executive escalation plans
• Rapid containment procedures

Affordable Security Services for SMBs and Nonprofits

We provide cost-effective cybersecurity options designed specifically for smaller teams operating without a full-time security staff.

Conclusion

The holiday season creates an ideal environment for cybercriminals to deploy phishing, impersonation, look-alike domain, and TOAD scams. Consumers and business owners must navigate this period with heightened awareness and preparation in order to avoid financial loss, identity theft, or organizational compromise.

Poole Technology Solutions partners with organizations to strengthen email identity, educate employees, monitor brand reputation, and build security resilience throughout the holiday season and beyond.

Schedule a consultation to prepare your organization for a safe and secure holiday season, https://pooletechsol.com/contact-us/.

Poole Technology Solutions. Always Improving™

References

AARP, “Holiday Scams Survey 2025,” https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/holiday-scams-survey-2025
MyComputerCareer, “It’s the Most Scam-Heavy Time of the Year,” https://www.mycomputercareer.edu/its-the-most-scam-heavy-time-of-the-year
ZeroFox, “AI-Powered Phishing Scams Targeting Holiday Shoppers,” https://www.zerofox.com/blog/black-friday-beware-ai-powered-phishing-scams-targeting-holiday-shoppers
Malwarebytes, “Holiday Scams 2025,” https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2025/11/holiday-scams-2025
ConsumerAffairs, “Toll Scams Multiplied in Early 2025,” https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/toll-scams-multiplied-in-early-2025
US Postal Inspection Service, “Holiday Scams 2025,” https://www.uspis.gov/holiday-scams-2025