Holiday scams surge as shoppers face rising losses, data show

NEW YORK — The festive season has become a boom time for scammers, preying on shoppers' haste and generosity. In one incident, Toni Campbell, a 63-year-old administrative assistant in Queens, rushed from her office on Dec. 5 after a package from Walmart’s third‑party seller was delivered for a Christmas gift she planned for her teenage nephew. Instead of $200 Beats by Dre Powerbeats Pro earbuds, the box held 500 sheets of printing paper. She recalled to The Post that she thought she was receiving a legitimate delivery, only to realize the package contained nothing she ordered. "I was, like, ‘Wait! My stuff isn’t in here,’" Campbell said.

Campbell bought the earbuds from 6AVE Electronics, a Walmart-listed seller. She told The Post she has not yet received a refund from either 6AVE or Walmart. Walmart said the customer has been in contact with both customer care and the third‑party seller to resolve the issue, and FedEx said it is working with the customer to resolve the case. A source close to the incident said the seller advised Campbell to contact local law enforcement.

Darius Kingsley, head of consumer fraud and scam prevention at JPMorgan Chase, said scammers are especially active during the holidays, using tactics such as fraudulent travel offers, fake delivery notifications and deceptive charity appeals to exploit generosity. Kingsley added that the season is a prime time for these schemes and that consumers should be mindful of signals that a deal may be too good to be true.

New York City has shown a pronounced fraud footprint during the period analyzed by researchers. The FTC-based analysis found the city averaged 140 quarterly fraud reports per 100,000 residents over the past three years. In the Empire State since 2021, researchers tallied 336,894 fraud claims, with a median loss of $553.77 per report — about 6% higher than the national median loss of $522.55.

Beyond Campbell’s case, shoppers nationwide have found themselves targets of holiday traps. Vanessa Tingey, 28, a resident near Orlando, Florida, believed she had scored a steal on Owala water bottles on a site that looked legitimate. After entering her credit card information, she did not receive an order confirmation and later received Chase alerts about a $500 charge for a Sri Lanka Airlines flight. Chase canceled the attempted transaction, and Tingey said the incident would have strained her family’s holiday budget if the charge had gone through. "Getting scammed out of $500 would have gravely affected our budget," she said.

Rhonda Hadden, a single mother of three from San Antonio, Texas, was stunned when two $150 Walmart gift-card purchases were charged to her debit card via her Walmart account in Hollywood, Florida. She reported difficulty reaching Walmart’s customer care and has filed a police report as she awaits a resolution. Walmart advised customers to contact their banks for unauthorized charges and recommended updating saved passwords on online accounts where payment information may be stored.

Star Friisval, a stay‑at‑home mom in Wisconsin, said she ordered a round‑trip flight for her family through Trip.com, only to see the flight canceled shortly after purchasing. To date, she has only been refunded a portion of the payment. Friisval urged other shoppers to triple‑check websites and consider booking directly with airlines to avoid similar pitfalls.

Kingsley offered practical guidance for holiday shoppers. He urged consumers to shop on reputable sites and verify the retailer’s identity, especially when a middleman is involved. If purchasing on a social platform or marketplace, he advised staying within the platform to preserve protections and paying with a credit card to enable dispute if goods or services aren’t delivered. He also recommended checking URLs for https:// and avoiding deals that seem extraordinarily cheap. To monitor potential exposure beyond purchases, he highlighted digital tools such as Chase Credit Journey for identity and credit monitoring.

Industry and law‑enforcement officials continue to encourage the public to report fraud promptly to local police and to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network. Carriers and banks have emphasized the importance of real‑time alerts and dispute options as a line of defense during peak shopping periods. FedEx said it is working directly with the customer to resolve the issue, while Walmart noted that the case involves communication with the bank and the third‑party seller.

The holiday period remains a high‑risk window for fraud, with the financial toll concentrated in hundreds of dollars per incident and the volume of reports continuing to rise in major markets. As shoppers hunt for gifts and discounts, authorities and financial institutions say vigilance remains the best defense against what some call a season of opportunistic crime.