Holiday Phishing Scams: How to Identify and Prevent Them

What is Phishing?

Phishing is when attackers use fake but convincing emails to steal information or install malware. That’s the core of it. The messages look normal — delivery updates, account alerts, invoices — and they count on people moving fast enough to miss the small tells. One click opens a fake login page or runs code that starts collecting credentials in the background.

It’s a basic tactic, but it keeps working. Phishing drives nine out of ten cyberattacks businesses face today.

How Phishing Scams Got Smarter

Phishing has evolved. What used to be clumsy messages full of broken links and obvious attachments has turned into something harder to spot. Attackers now rely on social engineering — building trust with cleaner language, better timing, and believable context. The goal hasn’t changed, but the bait looks like it belongs. Some campaigns even use fileless malware that hides in memory instead of dropping a visible payload, making detection much tougher.

Remote work has widened the field. More devices sit outside the firewall, more human entry points, more chances for small mistakes that become access. Platforms like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace make collaboration easy, but their uniform setups also give attackers repeatable targets. It’s why email threats spread fast across organizations that look and operate the same way. Built-in security helps, but it doesn’t catch everything.

Common Holiday Phishing Scams

While phishing attacks remain an email threat year-round, the holiday season always heightens online risks. Therefore, you must know the most common phishing scams you might encounter during the winter. Here are four you should look out for:

False Shipping & Delivery Notification Scams

While the convenience of online shopping is excellent, more and more phishing email attacks come in the form of false shipping emails with fraudulent tracking links. Opening these fake “status updates” notifications allows malicious code to harvest your login credentials, capture keystrokes on your phone or computer, install ransomware, or steal data to use for personal gain.

Gift Card & Coupon Offer Scams

As online shopping becomes more popular, having digital coupons becomes a necessity. However, threat actors exploit shoppers' demands for coupons and gift cards. Hackers will create scam emails that generate a sense of urgency in victims who must act fast to get a great deal on a popular product. Attackers will input fraudulent links where users will input gift cards and coupon codes that hackers take and use to purchase other items.

Travel Cancellation & Booking Scams

Phishing scams might send false notification emails informing the victim of a flight cancellation. Threat actors request that users open forms or links to input information to get a refund, which is the hacker's way of getting login credentials. Additionally, travel scams often impersonate airlines to offer free tickets in exchange for advertising.

Charity & Donation Fraud

Scammers know emotion sells. Around the holidays, they wrap their phishing campaigns in charity and goodwill. Messages claim to raise funds for disaster relief or children’s programs, complete with convincing logos and donation links. Victims think they’re helping, but the money and data go straight to criminal wallets. Some scams circle back, asking for “follow-up” donations until the sender stops responding.

Nonprofits face their own exposure. Lean teams and limited oversight make internal fraud harder to spot, especially when donation volume spikes. Staying alert to irregular transactions, rushed payment requests, and sudden changes in vendor details goes a long way when every dollar counts. This makes it important to understand the common nonprofit fraud risks and how to prevent them, especially during high-donation periods like the holidays.

How Can You Prevent Holiday Phishing Scams? 

Whether you are an individual or working for a company, you must have a certain degree of email security awareness when ordering online or negotiating deals digitally this season. Here are a variety of suggestions we have for you to consider when preventing phishing attacks:

• Avoid opening emails from suspicious, possibly compromised accounts, including e-commerce emails with generic domains.
• Remember that shipping details are always in the body, so never open an external link that could lead to phishing pages.
• Confirm the legitimacy of a charity before you consider donating.
• Be cautious about emails that seem urgent or boast great deals on popular products.
• Keep personal information to yourself unless you can trust the source asking.
• Note spelling and grammatical errors, vague greetings, and odd signatures.
• Encourage employees to go through email security training.

Which Email Security Tools Protect You From Phishing Scams?

Implementing a layered, supplementary email security software is the most efficient and effective way to guarantee email protection from phishing attacks and other threat types. Fortunately, Guardian Digital’s EnGarde Cloud Email Security solution fully manages email security services, malware URL scanners, and SPF, DKIM, and DMARC email authentication protocols, preventing email spoofing and sender fraud. These services can help protect your company from suspicious emails over the holidays, as they quarantine emails that could be untrustworthy so that your users never have to fall for a scam. EnGarde creates a safeguarded environment that mitigates email security risks due to misconfigurations and human error. Consider EnGarde this holiday season when deciding on a defense-in-depth approach to web and email protection.

Holiday Phishing Scam FAQ

A holiday phishing scam is a fraudulent email that imitates brands, charities, or retailers during the festive season to steal data or money.

What are the most common holiday phishing scams I should watch out for?

Bogus order confirmations from Amazon or FedEx. Fake charity drives with urgent donation requests. Gift card exchange scams that start with a “holiday thank-you” message. And social media ads that link to cloned storefronts running credential harvesters in the background.

How can I tell a shipping notification email is fake?

Look past the logo. Check the sender domain and hover over links before clicking. Real carriers don’t send attachments labeled “tracking.zip.” Tracking codes that lead to unrelated websites or short-link redirects are strong indicators of trouble. Another tell: language that pushes for immediate action. Real logistics updates don’t threaten to cancel your delivery in 24 hours.

Is it safe to click coupon or deal links in emails sent during holiday sales?

Emails promising “exclusive holiday discounts” are easy traps. If the deal feels too aggressive —“90% off, limited time only” — assume the link’s been weaponized. Best habit: visit the retailer’s site directly through your browser. Legit deals live there too. Email links can be safe, but verifying them takes more time than just typing the store name yourself.

How can email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) help stop phishing?

Email authentication checks if a message really comes from the domain it claims. SPF lists the servers allowed to send. DKIM adds a signature that shows the message wasn’t changed on the way. DMARC pulls it together with rules on what to do when something doesn’t match.

Set up right, these controls stop most spoofed domains before the message even lands. They’re not perfect, but they close off a common path attackers still use.

What role does employee training play in preventing holiday phishing attacks?

Even the best filters let a few messages through. That’s where people matter. Ongoing training keeps staff alert to seasonal tricks — fake invoices, urgent requests, unexpected “holiday bonuses.” Awareness isn’t a one-off session. It’s repetition. Short simulations, quick refreshers, and easy ways to report suspicious emails make a real difference when attention starts to fade in December.

Do I need special security software just for the holidays?

Probably not. What you already have should handle it, assuming updates are current and rules are tuned. What changes is attention. Teams relax schedules, patch windows stretch, and attackers know it. Focus on monitoring and alert response instead of buying new tools that won’t be fully configured until January anyway.

What features should I look for in an email security solution to handle holiday threats?

Good platform layer detection. You want phishing link analysis, attachment sandboxing, and real-time threat intel feeds. Outbound scanning helps too — catching compromised accounts sending internal spam. Integrations with user reporting workflows are worth more than fancy dashboards. Visibility beats volume.

If someone clicks a malicious link, what should I do immediately?

Disconnect the device from the network immediately. Don’t wait to see what happens. Pull related logs, reset credentials, and check for lateral movement or data exfiltration. Run endpoint scans and review mail gateway reports for similar messages. Quick isolation limits the blast radius more than any product promise.

How can I review and improve my phishing defenses after the holiday season?

Post-holiday, take a breath and audit. Check who reported what, how fast IT responded, and which phishing simulations failed. Update blocklists and refine filters based on what slipped through. Document lessons while they’re fresh. Next season’s attackers will recycle old tricks — your playbook should recycle what worked to stop them.

Keep Learning About Holiday Phishing Scams 

Phishing scams have devastating consequences for any organization, negatively impacting a business's success. The average cost of a data breach was $4.44 million in 2024.

Targeted, modern spear phishing attacks require organizations to implement email security training into their onboarding process so that employees know what to do in the event of an attack, so they can act smartly. Such knowledge can significantly improve your company's ability to avoid an attack effectively.

EnGarde Helps Mitigate Phishing Scam Risks

EnGarde Cloud Email Security software is a gift that can help the safety, success, and peace of a business and its employees. Consider utilizing these services when heading into the new year, and learn how to secure email against phishing scams with these defenses.