With the 2024 holiday season now in the rear-view mirror, there may be a temptation among both businesses and consumers to be less vigilant about fraud. After all, everyone has been on heightened alert since the shopping season began some four months ago. But when it comes to fraud protection, there truly is no rest – even for the post-holiday weary.

Fraud protection is a year-round exercise in diligence and top-notch security. The minute an organization lets its guard down is the same minute a fraudster gets his foot in the door. Fraud scams are continuously being developed and launched. Even now, there are percolating scams that will be ready for deployment any day now.

The Most Common Scams

When it comes to credit and debit card fraud, we are not looking at just a single scam. Fraudsters have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. We cannot protect ourselves if we don’t know what those tricks are. Therefore, the first step in genuine fraud protection is learning how fraudsters steal from their victims.

DarkOwl, a highly respected threat intelligence data company, published a blog late last year detailing the most common fraud scams for the 2024 holiday season. Those scams continue today, long after the shopping season has ended. Here they are:

1. The No Delivery Scam

The no delivery scam is ideal for online shopping. Scammers set up fake websites allegedly selling everything from clothing to electronics. The fake sites typically list items that are currently hot among consumers, thereby increasing the scammer’s potential profit.

As its name implies, the no delivery scam takes a customer’s money but never produces the products. Delivery is never made. Furthermore, websites are only up for a short time before being taken down. Scammers quickly move on to avoid detection.

2. Travel Scams

Next up are travel scams. These are perpetrated by scammers who also set up fake websites supposedly aggregating the latest travel deals at discounted prices. The goal of these types of sites is to collect personal information that can be used later on.

3. Phishing and Smishing

Phishing scams are well known in the business world. They are scams designed to steal sensitive information by convincing victims to give up their data voluntarily. Fake websites and emails are the main vehicle. As for smishing, it is phishing via text message.

4. Gift Card Scams

Gift card scams take many forms including payment requests. In the latest iteration of the scam, people posing as government officials or business owners contact victims and ask for payment via gift card. The payments could be anything from alleged violations to supposedly unpaid bills.

5. Charity Scams

Finally, don’t forget the charity scam. Although charity scams spike during the holiday season, they are prevalent year-round. Successful fraud protection includes paying close attention to alleged charities soliciting donations out of the blue.

Plenty of Fraud Protection Strategies

If there is any good news here, it is the fact that there are plenty of fraud protection strategies available to both businesses and consumers. From technology tools to transaction monitoring to training and simple data protection best practices, credit and debit card fraud can be stopped in its tracks. There just needs to be a willingness to do so.

Another holiday season has come and gone. As we wait for spring to arrive, do not make the mistake of letting your guard down. Fraud protection is still a priority for consumers, businesses, banks, and credit card companies. The need to be vigilant about data security and fraud risk will never go away.