The winter holidays are upon us, and that means consumers around the world are rushing to order gifts for loved ones, give charitably to causes they care about and otherwise enjoy the good feelings of the season.

Unfortunately, scammers are all too aware of spending behaviors and heightened emotions during the holidays, and they know exactly how to take advantage of consumers and scam them out of precious money, time, and data.

With a little effort, you can avoid some of the most common holiday season scams, allowing you to spend the rest of the holidays eating incredible food, exchanging heartfelt gifts, and otherwise feeling merry and bright.

Fake Social Media Stores

Social shopping is a relatively new phenomenon, allowing social media users to purchase items they see directly on the platforms they are scrolling through. Almost all consumers have made at least one purchase through social networking sites, and the rate of social shopping often increases during the holiday season, when consumers are eager to find interesting and unique gifts for their loved ones.

Unfortunately, social media sites are suffused with all sorts of scams, and shopping-related scams are no exception. It is remarkably easy for scammers to create what seems to be a legitimate store hosted on a social network and begin collecting payments from unsuspecting social media users. Unfortunately, the products offered through these storefronts never arrive, and before victims can seek refunds or issue complaints, the stores disappear.

Fake social media vendors are not particularly difficult to identify with even a small amount of scrutiny. Real stores put effort into their social branding and have plenty of information in their profiles about who they are, what they sell, where they are located, and more.

Usually, consumers can navigate away from social apps to the company’s actual website, where they might find more info about products as well as customer reviews. If none of this is available — or if products seem too low-priced or reviews seem too glowing — consumers would be best to stay away.

Fake Package Delivery Messages

A large percentage of holiday shopping takes place online, which means that consumers regularly receive notifications about when packages have shipped or arrived on their doorsteps. Unfortunately, some of those messages are fraudulent, crafted by scammers hoping to trick unscrupulous shoppers into clicking malicious links.

What might seem to be a link to a shipping tracker might cause malware to download onto a device — an unwelcome gift during the busy holiday season.

There are a few ways to avoid succumbing to this scam. First, all consumers should have high-quality cyber security software installed on all their internet-connected devices. This will prevent not just holiday-related scams from having long-term impacts on data security and device performance but it will also keep users safe from all manner of other online threats. Next, consumers should carefully examine emails and text messages that claim to have package tracking information.

Messages should come from known numbers or email addresses, use recognizable company branding, and have other markers of legitimacy, such as correct spellings and familiar URLs. Even then, it might be prudent to track packages independently, inputting provided tracking numbers in websites like USPS and Global Package Tracking.

Fake Charities

The holiday season is a time for giving — and it is the end of the taxable year, which means that many families are happy to donate larger sums to various charitable causes. As a result, charities often radically increase their marketing during this time of year, and many consumers receive plenty of emails, text messages, advertisements, and more designed to pull on their heartstrings and open their wallets.

However, not all charities are using donated funds to do real good. Not all organizations that pose as charities are even trying to do good; many are vile scammers looking for a quick and easy payday.

Before consumers put any money toward any charitable cause, they should perform some online research. Tools like Charity Navigator track real charitable groups and can provide information about the effectiveness of that group, to ensure that donors are making the most impact with their money.

Consumers should be especially wary of so-called charities that pressure donors to give as soon as possible or that ask for donations in the form of gift cards or wire transfers, as real charities will happily accept any type of contribution at any time of year.

Scammers hardly rest during the holiday season, which means to avoid becoming a victim of fraud, you need to stay vigilant even as you strive to be generous and open during this festive time of year.