The Season of Scams: How AI Is Supercharging Holiday Phishing Attacks

Each holiday season, consumers eagerly click “Buy Now,” while cybercriminals seize the opportunity. This year, AI-driven phishing is evolving traditional scams into highly personalized, almost undetectable attacks targeting both individuals and businesses. According to RH-ISAC, there is a reported 520% increase in generative AI-driven malicious traffic expected in the 10 days before Thanksgiving. 

From convincing fake order confirmations to replicated “customer service” voices, AI and machine learning are changing the threat landscape, posing new challenges for security teams globally.

AI Has Changed the Game for Cybercriminals

Generative AI tools can now produce emails, texts, and audio that sound entirely human, free of awkward grammar or flawed logos. Attackers utilize these tools to:

• Mimic real brands and retailers with impeccable phishing emails.

• Automate smishing campaigns through text messages (“Your package is delayed”).

• Clone voices and faces for deepfake-based vishing and video scams.

• Parse social media data to personalize outreach on a large scale.

The outcome? AI phishing campaigns that are quicker, more cost-effective, and more convincing than ever before.

Why Holiday Shopping Creates the Perfect Storm

During the holiday season, inboxes are inundated with shipping updates, flash sales, and receipts, creating an ideal setting for social engineering. Attackers take advantage of holiday urgency and trust to deceive users into clicking links or divulging sensitive information. In VikingCloud's 2024 report, over half (52%) of retailers identified the holiday period as a time of heightened cyber risk. 

Meanwhile, businesses are stretched thin by managing peak sales, remote teams, and customer support overload, leaving vulnerabilities that AI-driven threats can exploit.

Common AI-Powered Holiday Scams

1. Fake delivery alerts: AI-generated emails and texts impersonating Amazon, USPS, or FedEx.

2. Gift card fraud: Persuasive “from your boss” requests created by large language models (LLMs).

3. Voice cloning scams: Deepfake calls posing as support agents or executives.

4. Social media deepfakes: “Refund” videos or ads that entice victims to install malware.

Each scam uses the same AI capabilities that defenders rely on, but turned against them.

How to Defend Against AI-Driven Phishing This Season

1. 🎯 Run multi-channel, dynamic phishing simulations: Test employees with realistic, AI-enhanced lures.

2. 📚 Educate before the holidays: Initiate focused training on seasonal scams and deepfakes.

3. ⚡ Respond fast: Develop playbooks for rapid mitigation and external communications.

Modern cybersecurity isn’t just about blocking attacks; it’s about detecting deception powered by AI.

Final Thoughts

AI is rewriting the rules of cybercrime. As phishing campaigns grow more automated and convincing, maintaining vigilance during the holidays is essential.

The best defense is proactive: combine human awareness, AI-enhanced detection, and resilient response plans.

This holiday season, your customers won’t be the only ones shopping online; AI attackers will be, too.

To learn how PhishSheriff can help your team stay ahead of AI-driven threats, especially during this holiday season, schedule a demo with us today.