{"id":25323,"date":"2025-12-17T09:21:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T17:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=25323"},"modified":"2025-12-17T09:21:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T17:21:44","slug":"holiday-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Don&#8217;t Let Scammers Ruin Your Holidays: How to Spot These 8 Common Holiday Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Key Takeaways:<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Scams are always popular, but they tend to increase during the holidays.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Holiday scams in 2025 include some old (rotten) chestnuts and high-tech new additions.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Spokeo People Search can help avoid holiday fraud.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>At their best, the holidays <em>should <\/em>be the time of year when spirits are high, joy is in the air, and people are ready to chill with their loved ones. Unfortunately, it\u2019s also a time of year when scammers take it upon themselves to become real-life Grinches. While scams, phishing, and grifts are as evergreen as your Christmas tree, crooks tend to blast into overdrive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/money\/2025\/11\/23\/holiday-shopping-scams-what-to-know\/87436349007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">during the holiday season<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s because scammers know cash is flowing during the holidays, from gift shopping to charitable donations, and they want to take that cash right out of your stocking (or bank account). So, want to know how to avoid holiday scams? We\u2019ve got you covered with eight categories of scams to put on this year\u2019s naughty list.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Holiday Text Scams&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/everything-to-know-about-phishing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Phishing<\/a>, unfortunately, is a perennial type of scam. Around the holidays \u2014 when it becomes ice phishing, if you will \u2014 it works the same. A scammer posing as someone else or, as a legit business or organization, reaches out to you (in this case via text, but it can happen by phone, DM, or email, too) and in some way tricks you into sending a payment, or providing private or financial account info. This can be through text conversation, clicking a link that prompts you to enter valuable private information, or by installing malware on your device that harvests that information.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of the most common types of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/data-visualizations\/data-spotlight\/2025\/04\/top-text-scams-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">text-based holiday scams<\/a> include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Phony <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/usps-text-scam\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>package delivery scams<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fake <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/job-text-scams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>job opportunities<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bogus<strong> fraud alerts<\/strong> from trusted companies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Made-up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/e-zpass-scam\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">notices about <strong>unpaid tolls<\/strong><\/a> (that look very official)\\<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wrong-number-text-scam\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cWrong number<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wrong-number-text-scam\/\"><strong>\u201d<\/strong> texts<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stay safe: <\/strong>This one applies to every scam under the sun, from New Year\u2019s Day 2025 to New Year\u2019s Day 2026 and every one beyond: never, but never, click on a link or provide your private information unless you know the person, business, or organization on the other end is legit beyond a shadow of a doubt.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Seasonal Charity Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The holidays are a season of giving, with loved ones and charities on the receiving end of a whole lot of goodwill. From established charitable organizations to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/gofundme-scams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">personal GoFundMe campaigns,<\/a> there\u2019s no shortage of options for expressing your generosity, but you\u2019ll want to make sure your money is going where you intend, and not into a scammer\u2019s pocket via a nasty dose of charity-flavored phishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stay Safe:<\/strong> When you donate this holiday, be cautious of phone calls, mail, and bogus websites attempting to solicit funds for fictitious charities or even masquerading as well-known, legitimate charities. Just like when shopping online, always go directly to the website of the intended charity, and verify unfamiliar charity orgs with sites like Charity Navigator or GuideStar.\u00a0Also, be on the lookout for fake crowdfunding efforts, which will often <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/facebook-charity-scammers\/\">fabricate some compelling story <\/a>from scratch or even exploit a real tragedy from the news \u2014 they\u2019re even sneakier with AI-generated images and text this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/joshua-mayo-7jraFSrejWI-unsplash.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"man avoiding holiday scams while shopping online for gifts\" class=\"wp-image-28945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/joshua-mayo-7jraFSrejWI-unsplash.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/joshua-mayo-7jraFSrejWI-unsplash.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/joshua-mayo-7jraFSrejWI-unsplash.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/joshua-mayo-7jraFSrejWI-unsplash.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/joshua-mayo-7jraFSrejWI-unsplash.jpg?resize=1170%2C780&amp;ssl=1 1170w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/joshua-mayo-7jraFSrejWI-unsplash.jpg?resize=585%2C390&amp;ssl=1 585w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/joshua-mayo-7jraFSrejWI-unsplash.jpg?resize=263%2C175&amp;ssl=1 263w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/joshua-mayo-7jraFSrejWI-unsplash.jpg?resize=1320%2C880&amp;ssl=1 1320w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/joshua-mayo-7jraFSrejWI-unsplash.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Social Media Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Our hearts are open for community and good company during the holidays, and Scroogish scammers love to take advantage of that warmth with a cold dose of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/how-to-protect-yourself-on-social-networking-sites\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">social engineering scams<\/a>. While social media DMs can be the vector for all sorts of varieties of holiday scams, social sites are especially conducive for catphishing, in which a scammer eventually tricks you into sending money or revealing valuable private info that can lead them to your money by appealing to your emotions, often with an intricate long-distance relationship or an extended con.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stay safe: <\/strong>Cozy up with a hot cocoa and read our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/what-you-need-to-know-about-catphishing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">how to avoid catfishing<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Military Personnel Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of catfishing, military personnel scams are a common catfishing theme. These types of scams rely on emotional appeals and generating sympathy, all while making up excuses for why the catfisher just can\u2019t meet in person, and hiding behind the guise of a veteran really facilitates that for scammers. Catfishers will often claim to be military personnel who can\u2019t meet because they\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/is-my-international-relationship-a-scam\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">traveling or stationed far away<\/a>, or ask for money to buy necessary supplies (even though the military doesn\u2019t charge for necessities or travel), or to travel home to see their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stay safe: <\/strong>Two things should always, always set off alarm bells when it comes to catfishing scams: 1) anyone you\u2019ve never met in person asking you for money, and 2) a long-distance connection\u2019s continued refusal to hop on a video call or meet in person. Those flags are redder than Santa\u2019s cheeks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">AI Holiday Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, grifters have upped their holiday shopping scams game with easily accessible generative AI tech. AI-powered holiday scams cook up fake images for products that either make them look way more impressive than they are, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/what-is-an-ai-influencer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hawk fake videos promoting made-up holiday shopping deals<\/a>, or straight-up generate products that don\u2019t exist.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tech can also be used to easily generate convincing images and text for fake and spoofed holiday shopping sites (more on that later), or deepfaked images, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/ai-voice-scams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voices<\/a>, and video for phony social media profiles out to phish and catphish you, and even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/5-signs-you-are-talking-to-a-bot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">serve as autonomous chatbots<\/a> for social engineering or phishing scams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stay safe:<\/strong> Look for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcu.com.au\/the-money-mindset\/telltale-signs-an-image-is-ai-generated\/#:~:text=Images%20produced%20by%20AI%20can,beauty%20lens%20or%20image%20filter.\">telltal<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcu.com.au\/the-money-mindset\/telltale-signs-an-image-is-ai-generated\/#:~:text=Images%20produced%20by%20AI%20can,beauty%20lens%20or%20image%20filter.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">e<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcu.com.au\/the-money-mindset\/telltale-signs-an-image-is-ai-generated\/#:~:text=Images%20produced%20by%20AI%20can,beauty%20lens%20or%20image%20filter.\"> signs<\/a> of AI image generation, like incorrect anatomical details (especially in the hands and fingers), unreadable or gibberish text, details that mush together or don\u2019t make visual sense, and an overly smooth, \u201cairbrushed\u201d look. For text-based AI, ask a lot of questions and look for inconsistencies in the responses.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gift Cards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While gift cards make great gifts for folks you can\u2019t quite pin down, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/gift-card-scams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">they\u2019re also a gift to scammers<\/a>. That\u2019s because gift cards are nearly impossible to trace or refund. As such, gift cards appear in all sorts of holiday scams and year-round scams alike, from phishing to phone scams to text scams and beyond; if anyone asks you to pay them via gift card, you\u2019d better think twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to holiday gift card scams, the biggest one to watch out for is simply buying empty gift cards. While it\u2019s tempting to buy a gift card that\u2019s worth more than the seller is charging, there\u2019s often a very scammy catch: that gift card doesn\u2019t actually have any money left on it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stay safe: <\/strong>Only buy gift cards directly from authorized stores, not auction sites. No matter how good the deal, gift cards are not something worth buying secondhand. Make sure any physical gift cards you\u2019re purchasing haven\u2019t been tampered with, as people will sometimes steal the card info without actually taking the gift card. Avoid making any payments with gift cards outside of their intended store; requesting payment via gift card is a scammer red flag.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/eugene-zhyvchik-0O58LvoYdHk-unsplash.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"christmas gifts under the tree how to avoid holiday scams\" class=\"wp-image-27931\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/eugene-zhyvchik-0O58LvoYdHk-unsplash.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/eugene-zhyvchik-0O58LvoYdHk-unsplash.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/eugene-zhyvchik-0O58LvoYdHk-unsplash.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/eugene-zhyvchik-0O58LvoYdHk-unsplash.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/eugene-zhyvchik-0O58LvoYdHk-unsplash.jpg?resize=1170%2C780&amp;ssl=1 1170w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/eugene-zhyvchik-0O58LvoYdHk-unsplash.jpg?resize=585%2C390&amp;ssl=1 585w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/eugene-zhyvchik-0O58LvoYdHk-unsplash.jpg?resize=263%2C175&amp;ssl=1 263w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/eugene-zhyvchik-0O58LvoYdHk-unsplash.jpg?resize=1320%2C880&amp;ssl=1 1320w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/eugene-zhyvchik-0O58LvoYdHk-unsplash.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Holiday Shopping Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As sure as death and taxes, holiday shopping explodes between Black Friday and New Year\u2019s Day, and that means a whole lot of scamming pops off, too. With online shopping being a pillar of gift purchasing, scammers have taken it upon themselves to drum up a bunch of not-so-jolly shenanigans. Here\u2019s what to look out for in \u201825:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/spotting-fake-online-shopping-websites\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Fake websites<\/strong><\/a><strong>. <\/strong>Everybody loves a deal, but unknown sites and sellers can often be a case of too good to be true. You order, you pay, but no product ever arrives. The vendor either disappears or \u201cghosts\u201d you and can\u2019t be contacted. That\u2019s because the shopping site was a total fake, made just to trick you into giving money to a storefront that doesn\u2019t exist.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Spoofed websites. <\/strong>Similarly, website spoofing is a tactic used by scammers to clone legitimate websites to trick users into thinking they are shopping at a genuine store brand.\u00a0 In this case, the entire site is bogus, but designed to pop up near the top of your search results. Like fake sites, they\u2019ll take your money, credit card data, and private information, keeping the former and selling (or exploiting) the latter. This year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/11\/22\/top-scams-holiday-shopping-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Amazon, Temu, and luxury brands<\/a> will be among the most spoofed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Secondhand scams. <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/is-offerup-safe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">OfferUp<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/how-to-avoid-facebook-marketplace-scams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Facebook Marketplace<\/a> are great places to score holiday thrift hauls, but approach with caution. Alongside faux brand-name counterfeits and used products sold as new, peer-to-peer online marketplaces are a breeding ground for phishing scams.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stay safe:<\/strong> When it comes to online holiday shopping, always be sure to do a little research before buying from new or unknown sites. If information doesn\u2019t add up, or the deals are just way too good, think twice. Even if you do think you know who you\u2019re buying from, never go to a shop\u2019s website through links you received in an unsolicited email or text, and always double-check that the <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.rcsprofessional.com\/holiday-scams-to-watch-out-for-in-the-2025-holiday-season\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">URL is correct<\/a> (check for misspellings of common company and brand names) and secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mail Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>During the holidays, packages are more numerous than falling snowflakes, so when a text or email pops up letting you know your package has gone missing, there\u2019s a good chance it\u2019ll pique your interest. The problem is that it might not <em>really <\/em>be FedEx, UPS, Amazon, or USPS on the other end \u2014 it could be a scammer hoping you\u2019ll click on the link and give up valuable private information in what you think is a bid to get your stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might also fall victim to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/brushing-scam\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">brushing scam<\/a>, in which a company sends you a bunch of free stuff you didn\u2019t ask for. While it sounds nice at first, it could be an early step on the road to identity theft, as scammers are confirming that your address and contact info are valid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stay safe:<\/strong> Delivery companies will never ask you to pay or provide private info in order to track a package. Likewise, return any unsolicited packages back to the sender.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Avoid Holiday Scams? Santa\u2019s Biggest Helper<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you\u2019re vetting a charity, making sure a shopping site is legit, running a check for AI tomfoolery, or trying to stay safe from any number of holiday scams this year, chances are you have a name, phone number, address, or email address for the source you want to double-check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s where a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spokeo People Search<\/a> works its holiday magic. Just enter the info you have, and we\u2019ll instantly search literally billions of records to find out if the person you\u2019re dealing with really is who they say they are. It might just be the closest thing you\u2019ll get to a real-life version of Santa\u2019s Naughty and Nice list, this year and every year after.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>As a freelance writer, small business owner, and consultant with more than a decade of experience, Dan has been fortunate enough to collaborate with leading brands including Microsoft, Fortune, Verizon, Discover, Office Depot, The Motley Fool, and more. He currently resides in Dallas, TX.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sources<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>USA Today &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/money\/2025\/11\/23\/holiday-shopping-scams-what-to-know\/87436349007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Scams Are Exploding During the Holidays. Here\u2019s How to Stay Safe.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Federal Trade Commission: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/data-visualizations\/data-spotlight\/2025\/04\/top-text-scams-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Top Text Scams of 2024<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Norton &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/us.norton.com\/blog\/online-scams\/holiday-scams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">16 Holiday Scams to Watch Out for In 2025<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RCS Professional Services &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.rcsprofessional.com\/holiday-scams-to-watch-out-for-in-the-2025-holiday-season\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Holiday Scams to Watch Out for in the 2025 Holiday Season<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Axios &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/11\/22\/top-scams-holiday-shopping-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Top Scams Targeting Shoppers This Holiday Season<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how to avoid this year\u2019s biggest holiday scams, including holiday shopping scams, charity scams, and even AI-powered scams, and more. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":27932,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[614],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-safety"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Watch out for These 2025 Holiday Scams | Spokeo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to avoid this year\u2019s biggest holiday scams, including holiday shopping scams, charity scams, and even AI-powered scams, and more.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Watch out for These 2025 Holiday Scams | Spokeo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to avoid this year\u2019s biggest holiday scams, including holiday shopping scams, charity scams, and even AI-powered scams, and more.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Spokeo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-17T17:21:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-17T17:21:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/krakenimages-liT5AlTmC8I-unsplash.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Ketchum\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Spokeo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Spokeo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Ketchum\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/\",\"name\":\"Watch out for These 2025 Holiday Scams | Spokeo\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/krakenimages-liT5AlTmC8I-unsplash.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-17T17:21:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-17T17:21:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#\/schema\/person\/f86ff542e24d8f5ebc46c72da8d54921\"},\"description\":\"Learn how to avoid this year\u2019s biggest holiday scams, including holiday shopping scams, charity scams, and even AI-powered scams, and more.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/krakenimages-liT5AlTmC8I-unsplash.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/krakenimages-liT5AlTmC8I-unsplash.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1280,\"caption\":\"shocked santa discovering holiday scam\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/\",\"name\":\"The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo\",\"description\":\"The official Spokeo blog covers topics such as digital identity, consumer protection and privacy, how to avoid scams and catfishing, and more.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#\/schema\/person\/f86ff542e24d8f5ebc46c72da8d54921\",\"name\":\"Dan Ketchum\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b4e90775475e20dbc9f04243ff25bd467258b2f70dd0ee6f61b7176a251e9bd?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b4e90775475e20dbc9f04243ff25bd467258b2f70dd0ee6f61b7176a251e9bd?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Ketchum\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/author\/dketchum\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Watch out for These 2025 Holiday Scams | Spokeo","description":"Learn how to avoid this year\u2019s biggest holiday scams, including holiday shopping scams, charity scams, and even AI-powered scams, and more.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Watch out for These 2025 Holiday Scams | Spokeo","og_description":"Learn how to avoid this year\u2019s biggest holiday scams, including holiday shopping scams, charity scams, and even AI-powered scams, and more.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/","og_site_name":"The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Spokeo\/","article_published_time":"2025-12-17T17:21:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-17T17:21:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/krakenimages-liT5AlTmC8I-unsplash.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dan Ketchum","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Spokeo","twitter_site":"@Spokeo","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Ketchum","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/","url":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/","name":"Watch out for These 2025 Holiday Scams | Spokeo","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/krakenimages-liT5AlTmC8I-unsplash.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1","datePublished":"2025-12-17T17:21:41+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-17T17:21:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#\/schema\/person\/f86ff542e24d8f5ebc46c72da8d54921"},"description":"Learn how to avoid this year\u2019s biggest holiday scams, including holiday shopping scams, charity scams, and even AI-powered scams, and more.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/holiday-scams\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/krakenimages-liT5AlTmC8I-unsplash.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/krakenimages-liT5AlTmC8I-unsplash.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1","width":1920,"height":1280,"caption":"shocked santa discovering holiday scam"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/","name":"The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo","description":"The official Spokeo blog covers topics such as digital identity, consumer protection and privacy, how to avoid scams and catfishing, and more.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#\/schema\/person\/f86ff542e24d8f5ebc46c72da8d54921","name":"Dan Ketchum","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b4e90775475e20dbc9f04243ff25bd467258b2f70dd0ee6f61b7176a251e9bd?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b4e90775475e20dbc9f04243ff25bd467258b2f70dd0ee6f61b7176a251e9bd?s=96&r=g","caption":"Dan Ketchum"},"url":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/author\/dketchum\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/krakenimages-liT5AlTmC8I-unsplash.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8V62u-6Ar","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25323"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28946,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25323\/revisions\/28946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}