Christmas Scams: What To Watch Out For

At Ebury we often see our clients fall victim to scams and phishing attempts. So, we would like to offer a few tips on how to stay safe during the holidays.

Shopping online for Christmas presents and food is becoming increasingly popular year after year, providing people with the ease of buying gifts without facing the high street. However, with so many people entering their personal information and card details into various shopping websites, it’s an easy target for cyber criminals.

Bogus Shopping Websites

Scammers can easily create bogus websites where they advertise goods and services which are poor quality or unsafe, or goods that will never be delivered.

How to protect yourself:

• Only ever pay for something online using a credit card payment or a secure payments service, such as PayPal. This means your payment will be protected if the worst happens. If the website asks you to pay via a bank transfer, leave the site immediately
• Never click on links provided in unsolicited emails, especially if it is from a company you don’t recognise or have never done business with in the past
• If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Take your time and don’t rush into purchasing something because you think it’s a good deal
• Check for a green padlock in the address bar – this means the website is safe and secure. If there isn’t one, give the website a wide berth and definitely don’t enter any details
• Look for reviews of the website from other people if it is one you have never used before. Search this from a separate search engine, not the website itself, as they can easily display fake reviews

Auction Sites

Another very common method of online shopping fraud is fake accounts on auction sites like eBay.

Spot the Signs

• The seller doesn’t have any feedback from other buyers
• The seller privately messages you to offer you other deals that aren’t available on their page
• The seller doesn’t have much information on their page about themselves or their ‘company’

How to protect yourself:

• Never pay for anything online via a bank or wire transfer, only pay through a secure method, such as a credit card or through PayPal. This way your payment is protected
• If the seller takes you to a separate website for payment, check the URL in the address bar. If you are using the site eBay, for example, if the domain name is anything other than ‘ebay.co.uk’, it is a fake website
• Check for a green secure padlock in the address bar. Any secure payments site should have this
• Make sure you read the website’s terms and conditions regarding payments to see how you are covered

Phishing Emails:

Fraudsters create fake emails to look like they have come from legitimate shopping websites or courier services such as DPD or Hermes. They can easily spoof the display name and they commonly steal the logo of the company to display at the top of the email to appear more convincing.

Spot the signs:

The display name is easy to spoof, so make sure you check the sender’s email address. If it looks unfamiliar or doesn’t have a legitimate domain name, click off the email immediately.

• Fraudsters will often make grammar and spelling mistakes
• Legitimate companies will address their customers by their first name. If the email begins with ‘Dear Customer’, ‘Dear ’, or something else similar, be suspicious. Fraudsters send out thousands of phishing emails at a time so they are normally generalised
• Check for the company’s contact information - in phishing emails they are either very vague, or there is none at all

How to protect yourself:

• Never click on links provided in unsolicited emails
• Look carefully through your past orders by going directly to the site you bought the products from. You will be able to find out what is still due to arrive and also what courier they use
• If you are unsure about the email, go to the site directly and log-in to your account from there. They will have all the information regarding your order

Christmas Sales

A lot of retailers promote their Christmas sales to current customers via email – this is where criminals can take advantage of customers by using phishing emails.

How to protect yourself:

Even if you are interested in the advertised sale, never click on the link provided in the email. Instead, go to the website directly from your web browser – any information regarding Christmas is likely to be all over the homepage.

Social Media Messages

Over the festive season, a lot of scammers will also take to social media messaging services to target their victims.

Spot the signs:

• Think whether this is a close friend or family member of yours and if this is something you would expect them to do. This could be someone you haven’t spoken to for over a year, so is it likely that they would be coming to you for this sort of help?
• Look at the language they are using in the message and whether it sounds normal for that person
• A fraudster will be very demanding and will make up excuses as to why they can’t talk to you over the phone or meet you in person to get the money

Mail Scams:‘Sorry we missed you’ Missed Delivery Cards

Christmas is also a very busy time for sending and receiving mail, which is another opportunity for criminals to steal peoples’ money and personal information.

‘Sorry we missed you’ cards are normally used by couriers to post through the letterbox when they have been unsuccessful in delivering a parcel. It contains information on how and where to collect your parcel.

How to protect yourself:

• Look to see whether the card has an official logo
• Consider what deliveries you are expecting and check where your parcel is in the delivery process from the website you ordered it from
• If you have received one of these cards and you are unsure whether it is genuine, go to their website to find their correct contact details and contact them that way to verify

If you notice suspicious activity on your Ebury Online account or if you have been a victim of fraud, please email fraud@ebury.com or speak to your local law enforcement for assistance.