Overview
- Fraud investigators report a year-end spike in online schemes targeting rushed shoppers, urging people to slow down, check URLs carefully and pay with credit cards rather than debit.
- IC3 figures cited in new reports show non-payment and non-delivery scams caused more than $785 million in losses in 2024, with credit card fraud adding $199 million.
- Phishing texts and emails posing as USPS, FedEx or Amazon direct victims to look‑alike sites that harvest personal and payment data under the guise of fixing a delivery problem.
- Deceptive social-media ads often pitch deep discounts that lead to cheap knockoffs or nothing, and the FTC says chain “gift exchanges” such as “Secret Sister” operate as illegal pyramid-style schemes.
- Consumer advocates also flag fraudulent pet listings and widespread gift card cons, and they warn travelers about fake booking sites and too-good-to-be-true vacation offers.