It is the holiday season and many people will be receiving bonuses at work. Criminals will be hard at work to get a share of your hard earned cash.Around this time, crime increases, and many criminals go out of their way to make some cash where they can. While you rest, this is unfortunately not the case for scammers who are always on a hunt to make money out of unsuspecting consumers. The festive season is often characterised by an increase in scams.Here are the top five most common festive season crimes you should be aware of and always be vigilant.

1: FAKE TRAVEL SCAMS

 Fake travel agencies scammers like to create high-quality websites pretending to be travel agents offering great deals. They use psychological manipulation and pressure selling to convince holidaymakers to give deposits on the spot. After making enough money, they shut down the website down and go on to create another one. Contact the Association for South African Travel Agents to establish if the said travel agent belongs to the association.

2: BANKING FRAUD

 Many of us know of card fraud where fraudsters clone cards at ATMs. Do not accept help from someone you do not know or who is not employed at the bank. Aside from the cloning of cards, banking fraud hackers have become very sophisticated and have found a way to access online banking platforms and are able to create fake One Time Password (OTP) originally generated by the banks and gain access to unsuspecting consumer's banking accounts. Be on the alert, by not sharing your personal banking information with strangers. Listen to what the banks say. Look out for tampered ATM machines.

3: PROPERTY SCAMS

These are some of the most common festive season scams where they place adverts on the internet and social media platforms. As soon as the consumer makes contact, a request for a deposit is made to secure the accommodation. Pictures of the promised accommodation will be sent to further lure the unsuspecting consumer to accept the deal. The signs that will give way that it is a scam, the refusal to show you the property, making excuses about the keys, or the property not being available but one can look from the outside.

4: PHISHING, SMISHING, AND VISHING

These are very common identity fraud scams. They are often carried out by email, calls, or on text. Criminals use various methods to get sensitive or personal information or company data. They will get the user to click a fraudulent link through a phone text message, email, or voicemail in order to access your information. Phishing is through email, smishing is through text or SMS, and vishing is through a phone call, robocall, or voicemail.

5: FAKE JOB OFFERS

 While some unemployed people are planning on setting new year's resolutions and job hunting, scammers take advantage of eager job searchers. They create fake employment postings that are aimed at stealing money and personal information from job seekers. They ask for your private details upfront, and even request that you pay for job training or equipment and materials before "starting the job.'