Letter From Santa Scams To Watch Out For

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Gift-giving has long been part of many holiday traditions. Of course, you’d want the best for your kids or grandchildren, so perhaps you plan to give them a letter from Kris Kringle.

However, con artists also love the holiday season because they can take advantage of people’s excitement and make money out of it. Don’t fall for letters from Santa scams; learn how they work and how you can spot and avoid them below!

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How the Letter From Santa Scams Work

This scam starts with an email offering a customized, handwritten letter from Santa to your child. The scammer will even say that you can buy a special package from Santa for only about $20. All you have to do is click on the link provided in the email. 

Clicking on this link will take you to a site that looks legitimate. It says your child or grandchild will get an official nice list certificate and a special letter from Santa. To convince you to purchase it, scammers advertise free shipping that lasts for a few hours only.

Apart from losing $20, you’ll face the risk of identity theft once you provide your credit card details. Other sites may not require you to disclose your credit card information. However, you’ll be asked to share several pieces of personal information. These include your phone number, address, and name. Then, this personal data will be sold to spammers.

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Red Flags You Should Watch Out For

While the idea of giving kids a letter from Santa Claus is exciting, it shouldn’t stop you from identifying the following red flags:

1. 1. You receive unsolicited emails several times: If scammers keep reaching out to you either through emails or alerts, remain skeptical. It’s best to ignore or delete the email to avoid any potential problems. This is often the first step in a phishing scam 
   2. They request too much information from you: If they are writing a legitimate letter from Santa, they don’t have to know your child’s date of birth. You won’t have to give your Social Security number either!
   3. There are no good reviews or not much information about the site or company: If there are barely any details about the company, scammers might just have created it during the holiday season. Search the business on Better Business Bureau too. If you see complaints about scams, then save some stress by not purchasing the alleged “special gift.”
   4. It’s not a secure website: Before clicking on any link, check the URL first. Secure sites have an “https” with a lock icon. Otherwise, you might just be risking your personal and financial information and even your computer or mobile device for some virus or malware.

• The site has several typos and grammar issues: A clear indication that a scammer is trying to trick you is the presence of misspellings, typos, and poor grammar in their emails or websites. Even the capitalization is wrong, and the sentence constructions don’t make much sense.

• The site has no contact information: A legitimate website or business provides their contact details, including their physical address, phone number, and email. Meanwhile, crooks will only collect your personal information. If you encounter problems with your order, you have no way to contact them.

• There are no privacy or refund policies: If the site does not have a privacy or refund policy, then your personal information and orders are not protected. Thus, if you encounter defective or even non-existent items, you can’t get a refund. While other scammers add these sections to their sites, the statements are too vague.

• You’re urged to decide instantly: Scammers would say the offer is limited to let you purchase without confirming that it’s legitimate. While these fraudsters may sound convincing, you should take your time and do your research first before paying anything.   

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Look Out for Letter From Santa Scams With Social Catfish

While you want to make kids the happiest on holidays by giving them a letter from Santa, make sure that you’re not dealing with a scammer. Verify first whether the business is real, and don’t ignore the red flags! When in doubt, use our reverse search tool to discover tricksters’ identities.