Tech Tip Tuesday: There’s a Scam for Every Season – Find Out Common Scams for Each Month of the Year

Cybercriminals never take a break, so it’s important to stay aware of their tactics year-round. Every season comes with targeted attacks that you can avoid by staying aware. Check out the following list to stay up to date:

• January – New Year’s resolution scams such as diet pills, miracle exercise plans, and get-rich-quick scams.
• February – You might see an increase in dating scams throughout this month. Make sure to steer clear of all the sexy singles in your area emails.
• March – IRS scams claiming you owe money start to ramp up in March as well as fake tax services. Be careful of emails, calls, and texts for this scam.
• April – Subscription scams such as renewal notices for newspapers or magazines, or notices for a company you aren’t familiar with are common scams during this time.
• May – As summer approaches, stay vigilant for vacation scams as well as too-good-to-be-true vacation rentals.
• June – Security scams ramp up as people prepare to leave for vacations. Avoid offers boasting “free security inspection”. This scam may even show up as a person on your doorstep, so remember, never let anyone in that you haven’t scheduled an appointment with yourself.
• July – Free money scams increase in July. Unless you won the lottery, free money is never free and could get you into a lot of trouble. Hit the delete button and move on.
• August – You might be surprised but August sometimes sees an increase in puppy scams. If you’re looking for a new best bud, the local shelter is always better than accidentally buying a stolen dog or getting scammed out of your money.
• September – Back-to-school scams such as scholarships, college test prep, student loan forgiveness, and shopping scams are all at their height during this month.
• October – As holiday shopping begins, fake Amazon emails, banking notices, and “amazing deals” increase.
• November – More shopping scams continue as well as fake charities and veteran-targeted scams go up during this month.
• December – In addition to the scams listed previously, don’t forget about gift card scams. Nothing is ever free and if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Stay safe during the holiday season!

The best way to avoid scams is to stay aware and look out for different types of phishing. Learn more about the different types of phishing in our previous Tech Tip here!

That’s all for this week. We’ll see you next time for Tech Tip Tuesday!

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