Holiday Cyber Scams: What Your Employees Need to Watch Out For

December is one of the busiest months of the year for cybercriminals — and one of the quietest for internal staff. With employees traveling, shopping online, and juggling holiday schedules, attackers know businesses are more vulnerable.

Here are the biggest holiday-season cyber threats and how you can protect your company.

1. Fake Delivery Notifications

This is the #1 phishing attack in December.

Employees get emails saying:

• “Your package failed to deliver”

• “Confirm your shipping info”

• “Track your order here”
  

The links look legitimate but send users to credential-stealing sites.

Tip: Remind staff not to check personal packages using work email or work devices.

2. Gift Card & Holiday Bonus Scams

Attackers pose as:

• CEO

• CFO

• HR

• Manager
  

They send a message asking an employee to buy gift cards or approve a “bonus wire transfer.”

The urgency makes people act quickly without verifying.

Tip: Tell your team: “We will never request financial transactions via email.”

3. Fake Charity & Donation Websites

Scammers build convincing donation websites with:

• Stolen branding

• AI-generated logos

• Lookalike URLs
  

Employees often get targeted by email or social media.

Tip: Encourage staff to verify charity URLs manually — not through links.

4. Phony “Holiday Deals” Containing Malware

That “too good to be true” flash sale? Often malicious.

Common traps:

• Fake retail sites

• Discount apps

• Browser extensions

• Coupon plug-ins
  

Tip: Block known malicious categories at the firewall level and train employees on safe browsing.

5. Travel-Related Scams

Attackers target employees traveling for the holidays with:

• Fake hotel emails

• Rental car confirmations

• Airline “check-in” alerts
  

These lead to credential theft or malware downloads.

Tip: Tell travelers to access airline and hotel accounts directly through the official site/app.

How to Protect Your Business This December

Here’s what every company should implement:

✔️ MFA everywhere

It stops nearly all credential-based attacks.

✔️ Email filtering and link scanning

Blocks malicious links before they hit inboxes.

✔️ Password hygiene reminders

Employees should avoid reusing personal passwords at work.

✔️ Quick refresher training

A 10-minute holiday reminder video goes a LONG way.

✔️ A clear internal policy

Employees should know exactly how to report suspicious emails.

Cybercriminals don’t take holidays off — but with the right protections in place, your business can stay safe and stress-free. If you want a quick December security tune-up or a year-end vulnerability review, the Runbiz team is here to help.