The holidays bring more than sales and time off; they also bring a spike in scams. Cybercriminals are aware that employees are often distracted by shopping, travel, and end-of-year pressures. That distraction makes businesses more vulnerable.
The Scams That Catch People Off Guard
During the holiday season, phishing emails often disguise themselves as package delivery notices, online shopping deals, or charitable donation requests. An employee who clicks on one of these emails from a work device risks much more than their own inbox. That click can compromise your business network, exposing sensitive data or opening the door to ransomware.
Gift card scams are another seasonal favorite. Hackers impersonate executives and request “urgent” gift card purchases. Employees eager to help may comply before they realize the request is fraudulent. This leads to financial loss, but more importantly, it shows how easily social engineering can bypass technology when staff are not prepared.
Why This Matters for Your Business Devices
Every business laptop, phone, and email account becomes a potential target for attack during the holidays. Scams sent to personal accounts on company devices can still infect networks. Family members using work laptops at home over the holidays also create risks. IT managers often experience a surge in malware alerts in December and January for this exact reason.
What IT Managers Can Do Now
Cybersecurity awareness training should not be a one-time annual event. It should adapt to seasonal risks. Holiday-focused reminders about phishing and safe online shopping can dramatically reduce incidents. Solve iT includes ongoing security awareness training and phishing simulations as part of our managed and co-managed IT services.
Technical defenses matter just as much. Email filtering, multifactor authentication, and endpoint monitoring all reduce exposure. Managed Detection and Response (MDR) ensures that if an employee clicks on the wrong link, there is 24/7 monitoring and containment to prevent the damage from spreading.
Backups are another safeguard. If ransomware strikes, having tested recovery systems in place helps keep the business running. We recommend that all clients maintain a layered backup strategy across both cloud and local storage.
Why Leadership Needs to Pay Attention
For small business owners and executives, the cost of a breach during the holidays extends beyond downtime. You may face compliance penalties, lost customer trust, and higher cyber insurance premiums. For internal IT managers, the risk is burnout dealing with preventable incidents when staffing is already stretched thin.
A Seasonal Reminder with Year-Round Impact
The holidays may amplify scams, but the underlying risks are constant. Businesses that use this season as a reminder to strengthen cybersecurity habits see benefits all year long. A short, targeted campaign of employee education, combined with reliable monitoring and response, can keep your company safe throughout the season and beyond.
To determine the proper level of exposure of your business devices, schedule a complimentary threat assessment. SolveIT offers a phishing test, dark web scan, and cyber insurance readiness review to provide a clear picture of seasonal risks.
