At Capstone IT, we’ve seen how festive season chaos can open the door to devastating cyber-scams. Even small to mid-sized businesses in the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast region are targets — and the time to act is now.
A Real-World Holiday Disaster
Last December, an accounts payable clerk at a midsize company received a text message that appeared to come from the CEO: “Buy $3,000 worth of Apple gift cards for clients, scratch the backs, and email the codes.” It seemed odd — but at peak holiday chaos, the boss’s name appeared, so the clerk proceeded. By the time the mistake was verified, the cards were gone, cashed out — and the business absorbed the loss.
That loss may sting. But it pales next to what happened at Orion S.A., a Luxembourg-based chemical manufacturer. One employee received what seemed like routine email requests for wire transfers — coming from what looked like trusted colleagues. The requests were urgent, aligned with normal business operations, and the employee didn’t hesitate. The result? $60 million wired directly to cybercriminals — more than half the company’s annual profit lost in one devastating attack.
Why Holiday Season = Cyber Risk
Your business isn’t too small to be a target — far from it.
- Gift card scams alone cost U.S. businesses $217 million in 2023.
- Business email compromise (BEC) attacks accounted for 73 % of all cyber incidents in 2024.
- The holidays are prime time for these attacks because your team is distracted, processing more transactions, perhaps operating with lean staff, and the usual oversight may slip.
As your South Florida IT partner, Capstone IT wants clients in the mid-market (10-50 employees) serving Florida’s business landscape to recognize the warning signs and take control.
5 Holiday Scams Your Employees Need to Know — Before Thousands Go Missing
- “Your Boss Needs Gift Cards” (The $3,000 Text Trap)
- Scam: Impersonators pretend to be the CEO or another executive and pressure staff to buy gift cards—then scratch them, send codes via text or email.
- Prevention: Implement a written policy: No gift cards by text or email without two approvals. Train your staff that executives will never request them via text.
- Invoice & Payment Switch-Ups (The Big Money Play)
- Scam: Fraudsters send “updated banking details” or hijack vendor email threads just when year-end bills are due. For example, in June 2024 the Town of Arlington, MA lost nearly half a million dollars this way.
- Prevention: Always confirm any banking or payment changes by phone to a known number, not the one provided in the email. Create a “phone-call rule” for changes over a threshold (e.g., $5,000).
- Fake Shipping & Delivery Notices
- Scam: Phishing emails/texts claim to be from carriers (UPS, FedEx, USPS) asking you to “reschedule delivery” or “confirm payment”.
- Prevention: Train staff to type the carrier’s website directly (or use a bookmarked official link), never click links in unsolicited messages.
- Malicious “Holiday Party” Attachments
- Scam: Emails with attachments named “Holiday_Schedule.pdf” or “Party_List.xls” that, when opened, install malware or ransomware.
- Prevention: Block macros, scan attachments via endpoint protection, and build a culture of verifying unexpected files (call sender, confirm verbally).
- Bogus Holiday Fundraisers
- Scam: Fake fundraising sites mimicking charities, or emails claiming “company match” campaigns — designed to steal money or harvest credentials.
- Prevention: Publish an approved charity list, require all donations to go through official portals, and educate the team about social-engineering pitfalls.
Why These Attacks Work — And What You Can Do
The very tools that make your business efficient — email, digital payments, cloud services — are the same ones scammers exploit. These are not “Nigerian prince” emails anymore; they’re sophisticated, researched attacks that mimic your vendors or partners.
Companies that run regular phishing simulations reduce risk by up to 60%. Multifactor authentication (MFA) alone can block 99% of unauthorized logins. Yet many SMBs still rely on passwords alone and skip ongoing training.
Your Holiday Cybersecurity Checklist
Here’s your action plan before the season ramps up:
- Two-Person Rule: Any transaction above your set threshold (e.g., $5,000) requires verbal confirmation via a second channel.
- Gift Card Policy: Draft and enforce a policy: No gift cards via email or text without senior approval and verification.
- Vendor Banking Changes Verification: Confirm any banking or payment changes by calling the vendor at a number already on file, not the one in the email.
- Multifactor Authentication (MFA): Enable MFA across your email, banking, cloud, and critical accounts — especially in a region like South Florida where cybercrime is active.
- Holiday Awareness Briefing: Before the holidays hit full swing, hold a team huddle. Use the 5 scams above with real examples and make sure everyone is aware of heightened risk.
The Real Cost — Far More Than Money
While Orion’s $60 million loss made headlines, many SMBs don’t recover from even $100,000 in losses. In fact, the average loss per business-email-compromise incident is about $129,000 — a number that can sink a 10-to-50-employee company during the busiest time of year.
Your losses aren’t just financial:
- Operations may grind to a halt during peak season.
- Productivity falls as your team handles crisis instead of growth.
- Customer trust erodes if data or services are compromised.
- Your insurance premiums may spike after a cyber incident.
Keep Your Holidays Merry, Not Messy
The holidays should be about growth and celebration — not cleaning up wire-fraud fallout. At Capstone IT (serving Palm Beach, Martin, St Lucie and the Treasure Coast), we help local businesses lock down their tech before hackers lock them out.
Picture this: The accounts clerk at Orion could have prevented that $60 million loss with one phone call. With the right awareness and simple verification checks, your business can avoid becoming the next cautionary tale.
Want to make sure your South Florida team is locked down before the New Year? Book a 15-minute discovery call with us and we’ll walk you through quick, practical steps tailored for your 10–50-employee business — free of jargon, full of results.
Schedule your free security assessment now. Because the best gift you can give your business this holiday season is peace of mind.