A message arrives at 7:40 on a Tuesday evening: your parcel is stuck at the depot, pay a small redelivery fee to release it. You did order something last week, so the timing feels plausible. That is exactly the reaction scammers count on between late November and early January, when inboxes are full of genuine confirmations and nobody remembers which order is which. Holiday fraud works less by cleverness than by speed. Here is how the common schemes run, and the small habits that keep your money and your accounts safe.
Why the holidays are prime time
Three things change in December. Real deliveries multiply, so a shipping text no longer looks strange. Real discounts multiply, so a 70 percent price cut no longer looks impossible. And shoppers get tired, busy and mobile, tapping links one-handed while queueing for coffee.
Scammers do not need a new trick. They need noise and distraction, and the holidays supply both. Most of these schemes run at industrial scale: thousands of identical texts, dozens of near-identical fake shops, all built to catch the small share of people who happen to be waiting for a parcel right now.
Fake delivery notifications
These stay at the top of the list because they are cheap to send and easy to believe. A typical message is short, borrows a courier's colours, and asks for one of three things: a redelivery fee, customs charges, or confirmation of your address. The link opens a page that mimics a payment form, sometimes with a fake tracking number for reassurance, and collects your card details.
Two details give most of them away. The link, first: genuine couriers send you to their own site or app, and the domain in the message rarely matches. The request, second: legitimate carriers generally do not collect card details through a text link before releasing a parcel. Fees usually appear at the seller's checkout or on an official payment page.
How to check a delivery message in about a minute
Do not tap the link. Open the retailer's app, or type the courier's address yourself, then use the tracking number from your original order email. If the message mentions a delivery attempt that official tracking knows nothing about, treat it as fake. If you already entered card details, call your bank now rather than later, and ask them to block the card.
Deals that are too cheap to be real
Fake shops are polished. Many copy a real brand's layout, lift product photos from elsewhere, and price everything 60 to 80 percent below what every other retailer charges. A countdown timer runs in the corner. A note says three items remain. Payment goes through quickly and the confirmation email arrives; the parcel never does.
Before you type a card number into a shop you have not used before, spend two minutes on this:
- Read the contact page. A real business lists an address, a phone number and a returns process. A single web form and a free email address is a warning, not a detail.
- Search the shop's name together with the words "scam" or "reviews". Other buyers usually get there first.
- Look at the web address. Fake stores often add a hyphen, a word or an odd ending to a familiar brand name.
- Open the returns page. If it never explains how to send something back, assume nobody will answer you.
- Check the payment options. If the site only accepts bank transfer, gift card codes or crypto, close the tab.
Payment requests: where the money actually leaves
The moment a seller asks you to pay outside the platform's own checkout, the protection you were relying on usually disappears. That is the whole point of the request.
Treat these as stop signs, every time:
- A bank transfer to a personal account, especially from someone you met on a marketplace.
- Gift cards, or any request to read card numbers and codes aloud over the phone. No genuine organisation works this way.
- Crypto or instant payment app transfers to a stranger.
- A message claiming you were overpaid and asking you to send part of the money back.
- An invoice from a supplier whose bank details have suddenly changed. Call the number you already have, not the one in the email.
Marketplace and social media traps
Classified listings and social ads bring their own patterns. A seller offers to ship an item and asks for a deposit first. A buyer sends a screenshot showing the payment has gone through and asks you to hand over the goods. Someone offers a "verified payment link" that is really a request to log into your bank. A giveaway collects your details and never sends a prize.
The shared ingredient is urgency. If someone insists you decide within ten minutes, or warns the item will go to another buyer, slow down. That pressure is the product, not a coincidence.
Your five-minute routine before you buy
- Reach shops by typing the address or using a bookmark, not by clicking an ad or a message link.
- Confirm the company exists: address, phone, returns, terms. If you cannot find them, buy somewhere else.
- Pay with a method that gives you dispute rights. Many cards and payment providers offer buyer protection; check what yours covers before you spend.
- Save the order confirmation and tracking number in one place. A genuine delivery message is then easy to recognise.
- Protect shopping accounts with a unique password and two-factor authentication where it is offered.
- Do not save card details on a site you do not know.
- Treat speed as a symptom. Honest sellers are happy to wait for your decision.
If something goes wrong
Move quickly and keep records. Contact your bank or card issuer first, because payments can sometimes be stopped or disputed, and the sooner you call, the more options remain. If you entered a password, change it, and change it anywhere you reused it. If you shared identity documents, tell the bank and the relevant authority in your country. Report what happened to your national consumer protection or fraud reporting service and to the platform where it took place, and keep screenshots, emails and transaction references. Where large sums or your identity documents are involved, get proper advice from your bank and, if needed, a lawyer.
Being caught out is not a sign of naivety. These operations are run by people who do this full time. The checks above cost a few minutes per order and close off most of the ways they reach you.
