Why the festive period becomes a phishing bonanza
Every year around Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the run-up to Christmas, we see a dramatic uptick in online activity across the U.S.: millions of consumers searching for deals, making purchases, checking delivery status, managing returns and organizations operating with stretched staff and altered processes. That surge isn’t lost on cyber-criminals. In fact, it’s exactly what they thrive on.
Here are the conditions that make this time of year especially risky:
- High volume of communications: Between order confirmations, shipping updates, voucher emails and special offers, users receive far more messages than usual making it easier for a fake one to slip through.
- Emotional triggers: The excitement of finding a bargain, the pressure to act quickly before a deal expires, the generosity of gift-giving, combined with distractions of family, travel and social events these create ideal conditions for manipulation.
- Reduced oversight: Many businesses operate with staff on holiday leave, remote working, and delayed responses creating gaps that attackers exploit. As one vendor noted, three in five U.S. employees (63 %) admit they are more distracted during Thanksgiving week, and 57 % say they’re more likely to click unfamiliar links during Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals.
- Pre-existing expectations of urgency: With shipping delays, promotions ending soon, and flash deals, users are primed to click links or act fast without full scrutiny.
In short: hackers know you’re busy, distracted, and expecting lots of legitimate messages. They send just enough convincing content to trick you into acting and that’s why we say the holiday shopping period becomes a hacker’s playground.
The Anatomy of a Holiday Social-Engineering Attack
What do these schemes look like when you peel back the wrapper? Here are some of the most common phishing/social engineering tactics this time of year in the U.S.:
1. Fake Order or Delivery Notifications
You receive an email or text saying: “Your package is delayed click here to reschedule”, or “Your payment failed update your account now”. These lure you into fake login pages or malicious links.
2. “Exclusive” Holiday Deals or Flash Promotions
You see an email or social-media ad: “Black Friday 90 % off! Offer ends at midnight.” You click, enter your payment details but the deal is fake, or the site captures your credentials and payment info.
3. Charity or Donation Scams
Around the holiday season U.S. consumers are more generous. Scammers pretend to represent a charity or cause, ask for donations or voucher codes and funnel the money (or data) away. One survey found 35 % of U.S. adults reported receiving charity donation requests from organisations that seemed fake.
4. Business Email Compromise (BEC) and Internal Scams
For organizations, the formal seasonal changes (people on holiday, less supervision, remote staff) create opportunities. Social-engineering may involve an email that appears from a senior executive requesting gift-card codes, sudden invoice changes, or urgent payments.
5. Social Media + Mobile Device Lures
Analysis shows the U.S. retail sector is facing a pronounced increase in phishing attacks during peak shopping periods. For example, one study found phishing attacks mimicking major holiday brands increased by more than 2,000 % during peak U.S. shopping periods. Mobile and social-media use during the holidays adds another layer of vulnerability.
The Numbers That Underscore the Risk
Here are some U.S.-specific stats to anchor why this isn’t just theoretical:
- According to a 2024 U.S. analysis, Thanksgiving Day (November 28) was the most popular day for fraud attempts this year. More than a third of U.S. adults (35 %) had received fake charity donation requests and 30 % say they have either given or received a gift card with a zero balance.
- According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) IC3 data and other sources: the U.S. had over 193,000 reports of phishing attacks and cumulative losses of $70 billion + in recent years.
- A cybersecurity vendor found that 40 % of top U.S. retailers did not actively block bogus emails spoofing their brand during the holiday shopping season: meaning a large portion of U.S. consumers were exposed directly.
- In the U.S., three in five employees (63 %) say they are more distracted during Thanksgiving week, and 66 % will shop on personal mobile phones while 47 % report their employer offers no mobile security platform for those devices.
These figures underscore that phishing and social engineering aren’t fringe problems they are mainstream. And during the holiday season, the risk is amplified.
What Can You Do Practical Steps for Holiday Safety
Now, let’s move from “what’s wrong” to “what you can do”. Whether you’re an individual shopper or part of a U.S.-based corporate team, these steps are vital.
For Consumers
- Slow down and verify. Before you click a link or open an attachment, check the sender’s email address (not just display name), hover over the link to see the real URL, and if it’s unexpected go directly to the retailer’s site instead of clicking.
- Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA). Even if a hacker gets your password, MFA adds an extra barrier.
- Stick to known retailers and secure payment methods. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Avoid giving payment details on dubious sites or via direct bank transfer unless you have verified the vendor.
- Be cautious on social media and via unexpected QR codes. With mobile shopping on the rise during holidays, when you shop via social ads or scan QR codes for deals — assess carefully. Fraudsters are using fake QR codes (“quishing”) and social media ads to direct users to phishing sites.
- Keep software updated and use secure Wi-Fi. Holiday travel often means using public Wi-Fi, mobile hotspots or unfamiliar networks. Use a VPN if possible, avoid accessing sensitive accounts on public networks, and ensure your devices’ security patches are current.
For Organisations
- Run targeted awareness campaigns ahead of the season. Remind employees that the holiday period often brings more phishing attempts, especially urgent-style emails, spoofed domains, gift-card requests, etc.
- Simulate phishing attacks. Use realistic holiday-themed lures to test how your team responds. Awareness training in the U.S. context drives behaviour change.
- Implement strict email authentication. For example, many U.S. brands still lack full DMARC “reject” policies meaning their domain can be spoofed by attackers. The study found one in ten U.S. retailers had no DMARC record at all.
- Monitor for unusual payment or invoice activities. Holiday periods often mean stretched teams, unfamiliar workflows, and out-of-office approvals all fertile ground for BEC and invoice fraud.
- Have incident response and reporting channels visible. Employees should know where to forward suspicious emails and what to do if they clicked something. During busy holiday weeks, the ability to report quickly and act is crucial.
Why This Matters for Hacker Simulations
At Hacker Simulations, we believe the human element is your strongest and often weakest link. Social engineering doesn’t exploit a software bug. It exploits people: emotions, distractions, trust, urgency.
This holiday period with all its deals, excitement and hurry provides a prime attack surface. By running realistic simulations targeted at holiday-themed lures, U.S. organisations can expose weaknesses before real fraud occurs. They can train employees, test controls, and build a culture of awareness that doesn’t switch off when the holidays begin.
And for individuals, the same principle applies: awareness and self-control matter. A moment of impulsivity one click, one reply can undo months of vigilance.
Final Thoughts
The message is simple but powerful: just because it feels like the holidays doesn’t mean the threats take a break. If anything, they ramp up.
Whether you’re buying a gift in the next 24 hours or approving an invoice on behalf of your company in the U.S., pause. Check. Verify. Don’t let a flash deal or urgent-tone email push you into a mistake.
Because the cost isn’t just financial it’s trust, reputation, stress and recovery time. And you may not get a refund from a scam.
Social engineering isn’t going away but your team can be ready for it.
Partner with Hacker Simulations to turn awareness into action this holiday season and beyond.
