Holiday Phishing Starts in October, Here’s How to Stay Ahead

TL;DR

• Attackers ramp holiday-themed phishing starting in October and keep it hot through early January.
• Watch for gift-card CEO scams, fake shipment/delivery notices, and QR-code bait (“scan to verify”).
• Run the 15-minute micro-training below this week; share the 1-page checklist; make reporting one click.

Who this is for (Office Manager & All Staff)

You run standups, send reminders, and keep people moving. This gives you:

1. The 3 biggest scam patterns to watch for,
2. A plug-and-play 15-minute training you can run in any meeting, and
3. A short quiz to make it stick.

Why this is posting on Sep 30

October = kickoff for holiday promos, travel, and deliveries—exactly the noise scammers hide in. Posting today lets you brief the team before the rush (and right as Cybersecurity Awareness Month begins).

The Big 3 Holiday Phishing Patterns (2025)

1) Gift-Card BEC (“Are you at your desk?”)

• How it looks: An email or text “from” your CEO/manager asking you to buy e-gift cards “quickly and discreetly.”
• Red flags: Urgency + secrecy, address mismatch (look closely), requests to reply by SMS, “I’m in a meeting.”
• What to do: Never buy gift cards on email/text instruction. Call the person or Teams/Slack them on a known channel.

2) Shipment/Delivery Spoofs (UPS/USPS/“Package Failed”)

• How it looks: “Your delivery is delayed—click to reschedule” with a look-alike domain or shortlink.
• Red flags: Vague order details, tracking links that don’t match the carrier’s real domain, attachments labeled “invoice.html/.pdf.exe.”
• What to do: Go to the carrier website directly or your actual retailer account; don’t click embedded links.

3) QR-Code Traps (“Scan to verify account”)

• How it looks: Printed QR codes in public spaces or emailed images prompting MFA resets, payroll updates, or mailbox storage fixes.
• Red flags: QR leads to a login page you’ve never seen, or the domain looks “almost” right.
• What to do: If a QR opens a login, stop and navigate to the app directly. Treat QR codes like links from strangers.

15-Minute Micro-Training You Can Run This Week

Goal: Teach people to pause, verify, and report—without becoming the “link police.”

Materials: This blog + your company’s “Report Phish” button (or helpdesk email), 3 example screenshots (make simple fakes if needed).

Agenda (15:00 total)

1. Set the stage (2:00)“Holiday scams kick off in October. The three to watch: gift cards, shipments, QR. Your job: pause, verify, report.”
2. Red-flag checklist (5:00)
• Unusual urgency or secrecy
• Sender name looks right but email/domain is off
• Links/QRs leading to new or odd login pages
• Requests to pay in gift cards, crypto, or wire
• Attachments with double extensions (.pdf.exe)
3. Show & tell (4:00)Walk through one example of each Big-3 scam. Ask: “What tipped you off?”
4. How to report + what happens next (2:00)Click “Report Phish” (or forward to security@). IT will sandbox, block, and notify if needed. No shame—reporting helps everyone.
5. One action (2:00)Team commits to: hover before click, verify by a second channel, and report anything suspicious.

Quick 5-Question Quiz (read aloud or embed)

1. The “CEO” asks you (via text) to buy gift cards now. What do you do?Answer: Don’t buy. Verify on a known channel (call/Teams). Report the message.
2. A “UPS” email says a package failed to deliver. Link goes to up5-track[.]co.Answer: Don’t click. Go to the real carrier site or your retailer account directly. Report it.
3. A QR code at reception says “Scan to keep your mailbox active.”Answer: Don’t scan/log in. Navigate to your email admin page directly. Report it.
4. You hovered a link and the domain is correct but ends with “.co” instead of “.com.”Answer: Treat as suspicious; verify independently; report.
5. You clicked a bad link by accident. Now what?Answer: Don’t panic. Disconnect if prompted by IT policy, report immediately, and follow IT instructions.

1-Page Staff Checklist (paste into a downloadable)

Before you click this season:

• Pause: Is it urgent, secret, or payment-related?
• Check the from: name ≠ domain.
• Hover every link; avoid shortlinks.
• Don’t scan unknown QRs, navigate directly.
• Never buy gift cards on email/text instruction.
• When in doubt, verify on a second channel.
• Use the Report Phish button (or forward to security@company.com).

What IT/Leadership Should Do This Week

• Enable easy reporting: One-click “Report Phish” in Outlook/Google.
• Tighten email auth: SPF, DKIM, DMARC (start at p=none → monitor → quarantine/reject).
• Pre-approve vendors/carriers: Publish the “official links” list in your intranet.
• Reconfirm MFA: Especially for email, payroll, remote access.
• Post the QR rule: “If a QR opens a login, stop and navigate directly.”

FAQ (add as accordion or schema later)

Q: Is it safe to scan QR codes on packages?

A: Treat them like links from strangers. If a QR opens a login or payment page, navigate to the site directly instead.

Q: What if I already clicked?

A: Report immediately. IT can reset access, block domains, and check for malicious activity.

Q: Aren’t carriers always emailing delivery updates?

A: Yes, which is why fakes work. Don’t trust embedded links—go to your carrier/retailer account directly.

Q: Do gift-card scams really hit businesses?

A: Constantly—especially during the holidays. Verify any unusual purchase request on a known channel.

Want a fast October kickoff? Book a 15-minute awareness refresher and we’ll run this micro-training for your team and set up one-click reporting.