Stay Safe this Season: 5 Holiday Fraud Prevention Tips All Shoppers Should Know

The holiday season is a time for family, celebration, and giving—but it’s also one of the busiest times of year for fraudsters. With more online shopping, more package deliveries, and more charitable donations happening in November and December, scammers see an opportunity to take advantage of distracted consumers. Each year, thousands of people fall victim to holiday scams ranging from fake online stores to bogus delivery notifications.

At Members Trust, your financial safety is always our priority. To help you enjoy a stress-free season, we’ve rounded up five holiday fraud prevention tips you can use to protect yourself, your family, and your wallet.

1. Be Cautious of “Too Good to Be True” Deals

The rush of holiday shopping makes it easy to get excited about flashy doorbusters or once-a-year discounts—but scammers count on this excitement. Fake ads and websites often pop up between November and January, promising incredible deals on popular gifts or hard-to-find items. At first, these sites may look legitimate, but they’re designed to collect your payment information or deliver poor-quality knockoffs.

How to stay safe:

• Stick to trusted retailers and well-known marketplaces.
• Avoid clicking on ads from unfamiliar social media accounts or emails.
• Look closely at website URLs because scammers often use slight misspellings or unusual domain extensions.
• Check online reviews and confirm the seller has a real customer service line.

When in doubt, comparison shop. If one site’s price is dramatically lower than everyone else’s, it’s a red flag.

2. Use Secure, Trackable Payment Methods

Fraudsters often push for quick, irreversible payment methods because they’re harder to trace. Gift cards, wire transfers, and certain money-transfer apps can be risky when used with anyone other than your trusted, personal contacts.

Better options include:

• Debit or credit cards with built-in fraud protection.
• Secure checkout portals with verified encryption.
• Digital wallets that tokenize your payment information.

Always double-check that the website is secure. You should see “https” and a padlock icon near the URL. MTFCU members can also turn on account alerts in Online & Mobile Banking to get real-time notifications for purchases and withdrawals. This is an easy way to catch suspicious activity early.

3. Look Out for Delivery Scams and Fake Shipping Notices

With millions of packages moving through carriers each day, scammers take advantage by sending fake “delivery failure” texts or emails. These messages may claim your package is delayed, needs redelivery, or requires a small fee. Clicking the link can install malware or lead you to a phishing site.

Protect yourself by:

• Tracking your packages directly through the retailer or carrier, not from a text link.
• Being skeptical of unexpected notifications, especially if you aren’t waiting on a package.
• Watching for poor grammar or vague sender addresses.

If a message makes you feel rushed, take a pause. Genuine delivery services will not pressure you into acting immediately.

4. Strengthen Passwords & Turn on Account Alerts

Cybercriminals know consumers create new shopping accounts during the holidays, and this means more opportunities to break into weak or reused passwords. Taking a few minutes now to boost your cybersecurity can save a lot of headaches later.

Smart practices include:

• Using strong, unique passwords for each account.
• Enabling two-factor authentication wherever possible.
• Turning on transaction and login alerts for banking, shopping, and email accounts.

Monitoring your accounts frequently, especially during peak shopping weeks, helps you spot unusual activity quickly.

5. Verify Charities and Urgent Requests Before You Give

Holidays inspire generosity, and scammers exploit this by impersonating charities or fabricating urgent stories. Fake donation pages, social media fundraisers, and messages pretending to be family members in trouble are increasingly common.

Stay protected by:

• Researching charities through reputable sources before donating.
• Contacting family members directly if you receive a sudden request for money.
• Being cautious of anyone asking for payment via gift cards, Bitcoin, or cash apps.

Here’s a great article from the Federal Trade Commission about charity scams tips. Real charities will never pressure you into giving on the spot.

Keep Your Holidays Safe with Members Trust with these holiday fraud prevention tips

Your security matters during the holidays and every day. If you ever notice unusual activity on your account or simply want to learn more about fraud protection tools, we’re here to help.