🚨BOLO: Last-Minute Procurement Scams Targeting Firms on Christmas Eve🎄
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It is Christmas Eve! The pressure to secure last-minute client gifts, finalize year-end office supply orders, or purchase personal items is at its peak. Scammers anticipate this desperation. They are currently flooding social media and search engines with "Out-of-Stock" Purchase Scams designed to exploit your urgency.
Whether you are ordering toner for year-end filings or a rush gift for a partner, the mechanism remains the same. You locate a vendor promising immediate delivery of a hard-to-find item. You purchase it. Minutes later, an email arrives claiming the item is "out of stock" due to holiday volume.
This notification is the trap. It promises an instant refund but requires you to click a link to "confirm" your details. This link does not lead to a payment processor; it leads to a credential-harvesting site. By trying to recoup your funds, you may inadvertently hand over firm credit card data or banking login credentials to a threat actor.
Immediate Risk Mitigation:
Verify the Vendor: If a deal appears for an item sold out everywhere else, it is likely a lure. Stick to established, major retailers today.
Isolate Transactions: Do not mix firm procurement with personal panic buying. Use a dedicated credit card for any new vendor.
Pause Before Clicking: If you receive a refund link, do not click it. Legitimate refunds happen automatically; they never require you to log in again.
Stay safe. Do not let a shipping deadline become a security breach. 🎄🔒
