Skip to main content

Stay Ready: Avoid Holiday Scams

The holidays are here, and so are the scammers. Cybercriminals are lurking around every corner, waiting to steal your personal information and hard-earned money. The best way to protect yourself is by educating yourself. Keep reading to learn how to practice good cyber hygiene this holiday season. 

According to the Internet Crime Complaint’s 2021 Report, non-payment and non-delivery scams cost Americans more than $337 million. Credit card scams cost them another $173 million. A non-payment scam is when a seller ships goods or provides services but never receives payment. Non-delivery is when a buyer pays for goods or services online and never receives them. We hear horror stories every year, but how do we make sure we don’t become a statistic? 

The best course of action is to question everything. Always do your research and pay attention to what you’re interacting with digitally before you start clicking and giving out your card number, passwords, and sensitive information. Phishing is one of the biggest threats to your personal and financial information. “Almost 95% of breaches are due to some kind of phishing attack that happened prior,” says Roy Ross, our Chief Information Security Officer. Always check website URLs to make sure they’re legitimate sites. A telltale sign of a suspicious website is if the web address is missing HTTPS. Beware of phishing emails, texts, and phone calls. If you don’t recognize a number, do a Google search and see if it’s connected to a legitimate business. Examine the address that an email is sent from before you click on links and attachments. If it looks suspicious, it's most likely a scam. 

When making purchases, research the seller before you commit to buying. Read site reviews on their website and other sites. The seller could plant fake positive reviews on their website to cover up any evidence of a scam. Never wire money to any seller or pay with a prepaid gift card. Scammers will ask you for gift card information and drain the funds. Another pro tip is to never shop on public wifi. Never make any purchases or transactions on Wi-Fi that is not secure. Hackers wait to capture your information when you send it through these networks. 

Another good cyber habit is to stay on top of your credit card statements. Keep your receipts and compare them to your statements. If you notice suspicious activity, dispute it with your credit card company immediately. Keep your eye out for fake charities and fake freebies. Vet out organizations before you give them your money. Avoid social media ads or messages that say you won a free iPhone or other hot items. A good rule of thumb is that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. 

“It’s important for everybody to know how to protect themselves when they're online,” says Ross. No one is exempt from coming across scams, but you can always learn how to protect yourself from falling victim. When you educate yourself on what to look for and how to respond, you prevent hackers from stealing your holiday spirit (and private information)! 


You know how to protect yourself, but is your business safe this holiday season? #StayReady and #SecureEverything with CYBERCOMMANDER. Contact us for more information.

By Gia Tims

Comments

Post a Comment

Please no profanity or political comments.

Popular posts from this blog

Credit Where Credit's Due

  Credit Where Credit's Due   Credit reports 101 Used to calculate credit scores   and determine creditworthiness, credit reports are comprehensive documents that detail the credit history of a person or business, including current and former lines of credit, bankruptcy records, and more.  Credit assessments actually started in the 1700s   as a way to evaluate businesses’ financial standing rather than consumers’. The early 1800s brought efforts to standardize the credit reporting system as more businesses were started that needed loans, and the labor movement’s success in the second half of the 1800s led to an increased need for standardized c...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Trump Accounts Program For Children Moves Forward With New Mobile App Launch

  WASHINGTON—The Treasury Department on Thursday announced the launch of the new Trump Accounts mobile app, marking the next phase of the Administration’s rollout of its new federally backed investment savings program for children ahead of the program’s official July 4 launch date. Donald Trump The app, now available through major mobile app stores, will serve as the primary platform for families to manage and activate Trump Accounts. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the app is intended to give parents and guardians a “simple, secure way” to participate in the program, which was created under the 2025 Republican tax-and-spending package. Families that already submitted IRS Form 4547 to enroll children in the program will begin receiving phased activation emails between now and July 4, according to Treasury. Under the program, eligible children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, can receive a one-time $1,000 federal seed contribution into a tax-deferred investment ac...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

47-Second Loan Décisions. Underwriting in Minutes. How AI is Revolutionizing Turnaround Time in Mortgage Lending

May 27, 2026 CU Today TORONTO–While AI has been deployed across a host of back office functions, on the consumer-facing side its promise is increasingly being seen in mortgage lending, where lenders are promising mortgage approval decisions in as little as 47 seconds, reporting that up to a third of inquiries are now being handled by chatbots, and slashing underwriting time to just minutes. Toronto-based TD Bank Group said it has also deployed its first agentic artificial intelligence system in mortgage lending, reducing the time required to prepare applications for underwriting from an average of roughly 15 hours to less than three minutes. According to a statement from TD Bank, the new AI model automates mortgage pre-adjudication — the process that occurs before a human underwriter reviews an application. The bank said the system classifies borrower documents, extracts and validates financial information, calculates income, performs policy and consent checks, identifies discrepancie...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

AI Rapidly Reshaping How Consumers Discover, Compare & Choose Banking Products (But Trust Remains an Issue)

  Frank Diekmann May 26, 2026 SYDNEY — Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how consumers discover, compare and select banking products, forcing financial institutions to rethink their digital marketing and customer acquisition strategies, according to a new report from Bain & Company .  The report, titled “How AI Rewrites the Rules of Brand Discoverability in Banking,” found that AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude and Google Gemini are increasingly acting as the first point of contact between consumers and banks, particularly in Australia, where consumers are using the technology to evaluate products, interpret fees and even prepare applications for loans and credit cards.  According to Bain & Company, the traditional banking sales funnel — once driven by branches, brokers, advertising and search engine rankings — is rapidly shifting toward AI-generated recommendations and responses. ‘Increasingly Influencing Choice’ “AI assistants increasingly influen...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

‘Statistically Better Than Humans’: Revolut Says AI Is Transforming AML Monitoring

5/25/2026 08:36 am     WASHINGTON—Artificial intelligence is now outperforming humans in some key areas of financial crime compliance, according to American Banker, which reported comments from Revolut U.S. CEO Cetin Duransoy during Semafor’s Banking on the Future Forum in Washington. Duransoy said AI-driven transaction monitoring at the fintech performs “statistically significantly better than human reviews of the transactions,” allowing human investigators to focus on more complex cases. Duransoy said AI has evolved from a supplemental tool into “core infrastructure” at Revolut, helping the company manage regulatory requirements across 39 countries while also supporting know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering functions. He added that every employee at the company now uses AI in some capacity, including customer service systems powered by large language models that generate responses using actual account information. The executive also warned that financial institutions ...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Cox Lowers Auto Sales Forecast as Rates Rise, 'Outlook Worsening'

Economist says auto loan rates will rise to a 21-year high by year’s end. Interest rates for cars are likely to hit 21-year records by the end of the year, further raising monthly payments and driving down sales as many buyers hold on to aging vehicles a little longer, Cox Automotive analysts said Wednesday. During Cox Automotive’s forecast call, the analysts announced lower forecasts on both new and used vehicles for 2022, compared with its previous quarterly forecast in June . New car sales that in June had been expected to fall 3.4% to 14.4 million this year are now expected to fall 8.1% to 13.7 million. Used car sales that in June had been expected to fall 8.6% to 37.1 million are now expected to fall 10.6% to 36.3 million. The forecast for new car sales was reduced for the third time this year not only because supply shortages haven’t improved as much as expected, but also because higher rates are driving up monthly payments. Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Sm...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Fed will not be raising rates any time in the near future!

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress on Wednesday that the central bank will not start raising interest rates until it believes its goals on maximum employment and inflation have been reached. Powell also warned that many who had worked in industries hardest hit by the pandemic and ensuing recession will likely need to find different jobs. As he did before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Powell told the House Financial Services Committee that the Fed is in no hurry to raise its benchmark short-term interest rates or to begin trimming its $120 billion in monthly bond payments used to put downward pressure on longer-term rates. Financial markets, which had begun to wane Tuesday on fears that higher inflation might trigger an earlier-than-expected tightening of credit conditions by the Fed, rebounded on Powell’s comments. That trend extended into Wednesday with the S&P 500 index rising more than 1 percent. Powell said the Fed does not see any...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Apple Pay Lands 22 Credit Unions

By Roy Urrico CU Times May 06, 2015 Apple announced 24 new participating Apple Pay issuers, including 22 credit unions. More than 155 credit unions out of less than 250 issuers offer the service. Among the new credit union issuers are the $415 million Bellwether Community Credit Union in Manchester, N.H.; the $243 million Benchmark Federal Credit Union, in West Chester, Penn; the $15 million Blackhawk Community Credit Union in Beaver Falls, Penn.; the $2 billion CommunityAmerica CU in Kansas City, Mo.; the $2 billion Community First CU in Appleton, Wis.; the $143 million Connections CU in Pocatello, Idaho, the $164 million cPort CU in Portland, Maine; the $140 million Denver Fire Department FCU ; the $148 million Electro Savings CU in St. Louis; the $1.1 billion Elements Financial FCU in Indianapolis; the $448 million First Financial CU in Albuquerque, N.M.; the $541 million Greater Nevada CU in Carson City, Nev.; the $485 million Harvard University Employees CU in Cambridge, Mass...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Royal Administration Services, Inc. is the Official Conference Sponsor of the 2018 National Council of Firefighter Credit Unions Inc Annual Conference

Hanover, Ma,   Royal Administration Services , Inc. is pleased to announce it is the Official Conference Sponsor for The National Council of Firefighter Credit Unions Inc (NCOFCU) 2018 Annual Conference. NCOFCU’s 2018 Conference will be held in Seattle, Washington September 19-22, 2018. NCOFCU is the nation’s premier professional association of Credit Unions serving firefighters and First Responders and their families. “We are thrilled to Welcome Royal as this year’s Official Conference Sponsor,” said Grant J. Sheehan, Executive Director and CEO of NCOFCU; we are pleased to partner with Royal’s suite of vehicle protection product offerings to our members, and their families. By stepping up its role at the conference, Royal is further demonstrating their support for Firefighters and First Responders and the Credit Union Community. “We share in the Council’s commitment to providing relevant auto lending protection products and services; Royal Administration Services...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Supplemental Capital to be Considered by NCUA

Supplemental Capital At the NCUA’s October board meeting, senior staff of the NCUA submitted a briefing report (the “Report”) to the NCUA Board (the “Board”) on the issues concerning the use of supplemental capital by federally insured credit unions (“FICUs”).  The use of supplemental capital presents a number of regulatory and policy issues that would need to be addressed prior to authorizing this form of capital for all FICUs.  The Board considered issuing an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANPR”) in the near future which would give credit unions and the public the opportunity to provide comment before the proposed rule stage.  Supplemental capital does not provide any capital support under the NCUA’s net worth requirements because it does not count as equity under generally accepted accounting principles, but it would allow FICUs to have a greater concentration of member business loans and long term mortgage loans since it could be used by FICUs to meet...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»