FightCybercrime Offers Free Online Resource to Avoid Scams for Millions of Americans Receiving Gift Cards This Holiday Season

Provides young adults information on best practices and tips to help protect their parents, grandparents and loved ones from gift card scams

PHOENIX, Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- FightCybercrime, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to meet the challenges facing those impacted by cybercrime, is providing a free online resource (fightcybercrime.org/secure-together/) to educate Americans on the rapidly growing threat of gift card scams, offering information and tips they need to protect their older family members. In addition to empowering younger adults to help prevent their loved ones from becoming victims this holiday season, the new site offers best practices to protect against these types of scams year-round.

"Fraudsters are already targeting millions of gift card recipients, with these attempts escalating as we move through the holiday season, and they are increasingly looking to exploit the most vulnerable populations – especially older adults," said Ally Armeson, Executive Director, FightCybercrime. "Our new resource center (fightcybercrime.org/secure-together/) is designed to educate young adults on how to recognize gift card scams. In turn, they can teach their parents and loved ones how to avoid gift card fraud. It also offers best practices and tips on safeguarding gift cards and other sensitive personal information year-round."

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Americans reported losing more than $215 million to gift card scams last year. The figure is likely much higher because many victims do not report fraudulent activity due to embarrassment.

"We want to provide young adults with the resources they need to protect their parents and grandparents against increasingly sophisticated gift card scams, and in the process, set them up for long-term security against cybercriminals," said Ms. Armeson. "Implementing best practices like ensuring your parents or grandparents never give out personal or gift card information – even if it appears to be requested from a trusted figure or relative – and enabling two-factor authentication on all accounts can go a long way in protecting them from bad actors."

Fightcybercrime.org/secure-together/ is a comprehensive resource that includes easy-to-consume information on how Gen-Z and Millennial adults can learn how to identify and avoid gift card scams. It includes a free guide on how to start the conversation with loved ones. In addition, the resource includes tips on how young adults can work with family members to ensure that all other important personal information targeted by scammers is safeguarded as well. 

By visiting FightCybercrime's resource center, individuals and families will learn best practices to boost their overall safety, such as:

• How to recognize and avoid the most common forms of gift card scams.
• Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) on their accounts. 2FA makes it tougher for scammers to get in—even if they guess a password.
• Setting up and using a password manager to create and store strong, unique passwords for each account. This makes their login process a breeze while keeping their accounts secure.
• Reviewing and updating their privacy settings on their social media accounts and other online platforms.
• Continually keeping their devices and computer software updated.

FightCybercrime is dedicated to helping individual victims of cybercrime. The organization provides comprehensive resources, tips, support groups and other information for victims to recognize, report and recover from various types of cybercrime.

About FightCybercrime
FightCybercrime is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to meet the challenges facing those impacted by cybercrime. We foster collaboration, develop resources and provide training while working with law enforcement and consumer protection ecosystems to ensure those affected by cybercrime are empowered to recognize, report and recover from scams and online fraud. For more information visit fightcybercrime.org.

SOURCE FightCybercrime