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January 23rd, 2026
Today is the last day of 2020. Tomorrow will be the first day of 2021, a year that most people have anticipated since the coronavirus pandemic started. While it may be exciting going into the new year with a coronavirus vaccine, there are scammers everywhere that will create new scams revolving around New Years’ Day. Here are some happy New Year scams that you need to watch out for as we go into the year 2021.
Types of Happy New Year Scams to Watch Out For
Phishing Greeting Cards
Scammers will send a phishing email or message their victims a greeting card wishing them a Happy New Year! In the greeting card, it will advertise a fake website to go on to receive more greetings. However, once you click on the website it downloads malware onto your device that will steal your personal information which will allow scammers to commit identity fraud under your name.
Charity Scams
Scammers send you a phishing link via email or text message to a fake charity website where you can donate money. The fake website contains a form where victims fill out their personal and financial information.
They also call their victims pretending to be the charity, and ask for personal and financial information from their victims. Once the scammers have this information, they can commit identity fraud and steal their victims’ money.
Fake Ticket Scam
Scammers post online that they are selling tickets to a New Years’ event, and advertise it at a way lower price than on the official event’s website. The victims go on the website to buy the low-priced fake ticket, only to be redirected to a form where they need to enter their personal and financial information.
Sometimes, their financial information includes gift card numbers and wire transfers. Once they give up this information, scammers then use it to steal their identities and money.
Fake Coronavirus Vaccine Scams
Toward the end of 2020, Pfizer and Moderna created a COVID-19 vaccine that is being distributed throughout the United States. Because of this, scammers are coming up with scams related to the coronavirus vaccine. Scammers will send phishing emails and call their victims pretending to be a doctor selling the vaccine. However, once the victim provides the scammer with their information to buy the vaccine, the scammer takes their money and identity with no vaccine in return.
How to Avoid Happy New Year Scams
- Avoid giving anyone you meet online or over the phone your personal and financial information.
- Don’t click on any links from any unrecognizable source.
- Check the URL for “https://” which means secure or email address to see if it’s one you know before trusting in the information presented to you.
- Check charity ratings on the certain charity contacting you through sites such as GuideStar, Charity Watch, Charity Navigator, or the Wise Giving Alliance.
Social Catfish is Here to Help You With Happy New Year Scams!
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 Happy New Year scams.
