How Much Do You Know About Holiday-Related Scams in 2025?

More consumers need to be aware of the seasonal surge in charity, delivery, shopping and other schemes, an AARP survey finds.

Scams have become a part of our everyday lives, unfortunately. It can be exhausting fending off the many phishing emails and texts from people pretending to be government officials or road toll collectors, online retailers needing your personal information and robocalls warning of money owed. And although criminals appear to ramp up their fraud efforts during the holiday season, many consumers are not aware of — or taking precautions against — the elevated risk, according to a new AARP Fraud Watch Network report.

The AARP survey of 1,849 U.S. consumers age 18 and older, detailed in the report “Fraud Persists in the Season of Giving,” finds that in the past year, 89 percent of U.S. consumers have experienced or been targeted by at least one form of the fraud that is rampant during the holidays, including requests from (often fake) charities, online shopping scams and fraudulent texts about delivery problems.

The survey included a fraud knowledge quiz (see questions and answers below), which only 27 percent of respondents answered seven or more of the 10 true-or-false questions correctly.

Highlights from the survey

• Fifty-five percent of respondents have received a notification from someone claiming to be from the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx or UPS about a shipment issue that turned out to be fraudulent. That’s up from 29 percent in 2022.

• Thirty percent of respondents have had a package stolen from outside their doors.

• Thirty-five percent received a donation request in the past year that seemed fraudulent.

• More than half (58 percent) reported receiving a scam text about an unpaid toll in the past 12 months.

• Thirty-nine percent have experienced fraud when attempting to buy a product through an online ad.

• Fourteen percent of travelers experienced fraud when booking a trip. (That includes paying for a car rental, plane ticket or place to stay, only to find out the offer was fraudulent.)

• Most (92 percent) agree that lawmakers need to do more to protect consumers from fraud and scams.

Gift cards are a favorite holiday item for giving and receiving, but they are also a favorite among fraud criminals. According to Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention programs for the AARP Fraud Watch Network, “The survey found that 33 percent of consumers have either given or received a card with no value on it. While some of this could be error, much is likely low-tech in-store manipulation of cards or high-tech tracking of card values online and draining them.”

Test your safe-shopping savvy

Survey participants were asked the following questions. See how you do.

True or false?

1. Online retailers like Amazon and eBay will request your login information to provide customer support.

2. Ordering a free trial offer from an online retailer (with a small shipping charge) is a good way of trying out a product before you buy it.

3. Peer-to-peer payment apps like Cash App, Zelle and Venmo have the same consumer protections as your credit card. 

4. When searching online for customer support, the first customer service phone number that appears on your search results will connect you with a legitimate person from that company.

5. Peer-to-peer payment apps like Cash App, Zelle and Venmo are generally only intended to be used to transfer money between people you personally know, like family, friends, the babysitter or the lawn service.

6. It’s safe to pay for a vacation rental found on apps like Airbnb or VRBO outside of the app — for example, by sending money with a P2P app instead.

7. Ads for merchandise that you see on social media, such as Facebook or Instagram, or other places online, are trustworthy.

8. The safest way to make purchases online is with a credit card.

9. Regularly updating software on your devices protects against fraud. 

10. If you are directed to send someone money by converting cash to cryptocurrency at a convenience store kiosk, it is a scam.

Answers, with the percentage of respondents who answered correctly: 1. False (34); 2. False (35); 3. False (35); 4. False (43); 5. True (63); 6. False (50); 7. False (50); 8. True (55); 9. True (65); 10. True (66). The report offers explanations for these answers.

By Christina Ianzito, AARP

Published November 19, 2025

Christina Ianzito covers scams and fraud, and is the books editor for aarp.org and AARP The Magazine.