Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a stark warning to the people of Ohio: keep an eye out for a sleigh-full of holiday scams this festive season. In a press release issued yesterday, LaRose highlighted a surge in sophisticated scams aimed at nabbing personal information and cash during a time when many are preoccupied with gift-buying and end-of-year giving. Ohioans lost a whopping $50.5 billion from 2020 to 2024 to such schemes, according to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, suggesting these grinches in scammer's clothing mean serious business.
"Scammers count on the chaos of the Christmas season to catch people off guard," LaRose cautioned, according to Ohio Secretary of State. He advocates for a few seconds of caution that could be the difference between a merry holiday and significant losses. Some of the nastiest scams making their rounds this year include fake shipping alerts, gift card hustles from a so-called "boss," and counterfeit charity pleas, often involving cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin—nearly always a red flag.
One of the top five scams to look out for, according to the Secretary of State's report, is the "Fake Shipping Alerts," where fraudsters masquerade as major retailers or shipping services. "Your package is delayed—click here to reschedule," the messages might read, hoping you'll take the bait. These itchy-finger scams are followed closely by demands for bulk gift card purchases, where phishers pose as high-ranking company officials in a pinch. They’ve continued to plague small businesses, tricking them out of sums that can reach $50,000 in mere hours.
Then there are the heartstring-pulling pleas from what appear to be orphans, veterans, and disaster victims—these charity scams have jumped on the deepfake bandwagon to make their acts more convincing. In keeping with our less-than-festive theme here, pop-up phishing making outrageous claims about free gifts and loyalty points, as well as the evil twin of public Wi-Fi networks lying in wait to harvest your data like a starving snowman at a Christmas cookie buffet, rounds up the list of scams detailed by Secretary LaRose. We’ve all been nudged often enough to know the drill: verify, verify, verify—don’t click questionable links and avoid conducting sensitive transactions over public networks.
Secretary LaRose isn't just airing out Ohio's dirty, scam-filled laundry without offering a helping hand. He urges Ohioans to pass along these warnings to their loved ones, colleagues, and particularly to those who may be less tech-savvy and thus, ripe targets for this digital mischief. Extra resources and cybersecurity tips are available courtesy of the Secretary of State's office for those looking to fortify their holiday defenses.
