With the coronavirus pandemic plaguing the holiday season of 2020, many people are trying to find socially-distanced virtual gifting methods this year for their friends and families. However, the coronavirus isn’t the only thing plaguing the holiday season of 2020. Scammers are lurking during the holiday season, picking up on new holiday trends to steal a quick buck from their victims, especially with ecards. Here are different types of Christmas ecards scams that you need to watch out for.

Types of Christmas eCards Scams

Malware Infected eCards

Scammers send out eCards to their victims, and the victims open the eCard wondering who it is from. However, the eCard is filled with viruses and malware that infect the victims’ devices. The scammer threatens the victim, saying that if the victim doesn’t pay them money, the computer will have a virus on it forever. In some instances though, the victim won’t even know about the malware on their devices that will steal their personal information.

Scammers Pretend to Sell eCards

Scammers go on social media platforms, advertising that they are selling eCards. They create a fake website that victims can go on with a form so that they can fill out their personal and financial information. The types of payments accepted for the eCard are wire transfers, gift cards, or credit card numbers. Once the victim enters this information, the scammer can then steal their money and their identity.

Phishing Link Scams

Scammers create phishing links within their eCard scam emails for victims to claim their money gift. The victim clicks on the link, and it asks them to fill out their personal and financial information. Once the victim does that, the scammer uses it for their own personal gains, stealing their victims’ identities and stealing all of their money.

How to Avoid Christmas eCards Scams

• Watch out for misspelled eCards.
• Don’t open if there was an error saying that you were the one who sent the card, but really you received it.
• Don’t open it if an unknown sender sent you the card.
• Don’t open it if it says your friend sent you a card, but it’s from an unfamiliar or misspelled email address.
• Don’t open if the name of the sender seems fake.
• Don’t open if the URL link on the eCard looks suspicious.
• Don’t click on any links or attachments within the eCard if it looks suspicious.
• Contact your friend or family member to see if they sent you an eCard before opening it.
• Report any scam eCard to the FTC so that they can spread awareness about Christmas eCards scams.

Social Catfish is Here to Help You!

At Social Catfish, we want to help you verify the identities of those who might seem suspicious to you. If you have their name, email address, phone number, social media username, or image, you can reverse search and see who the suspected person was that you’ve been in contact with if you think you’ve been a victim of Christmas eCards scams.

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