{"id":17708,"date":"2025-11-12T09:54:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T14:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/?p=17708"},"modified":"2026-04-02T14:58:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T18:58:28","slug":"holiday-cybercrime-prevention-tips-small-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/holiday-cybercrime-prevention-tips-small-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiday Cybercrime Prevention Tips for Small Businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17709\" src=\"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/santa-8458564_1920.jpg\" alt=\"holiday cybercrime prevention tips small businesses\" width=\"1024\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/santa-8458564_1920.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/santa-8458564_1920-980x615.jpg 980w, https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/santa-8458564_1920-480x301.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p><audio controls><source src=\"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Holiday-Cybercrime-Prevention-Tips-for-Small-Businesses.mp3\" type=\"audio\/mpeg\">Your browser does not support the audio element.<\/audio><\/p>\n<p><em>While it&#8217;s critical for small businesses to stay vigilant about cybersecurity year-round, the holiday season can be distracting, and that vigilance can slip, giving cybercriminals the opening they need to hack and scam. Our cybersecurity partner, <a href=\"https:\/\/orbitalfire.com\/2025\/11\/06\/holiday-cybercrime-why-distraction-is-the-real-threat\/?utm_campaign=Monthly%20Newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz--gwU9QN7uhAMncRqwZaKXLNky6ZXb8n7DDNoGYvInmg5olfpvB63HY0pOzVNI4bwVTgQSt3jbkWDKjF33oFb4fquBMiw&amp;_hsmi=389382976&amp;utm_content=389382976&amp;utm_source=hs_email\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OrbitalFire<\/a>, offers prevention tips to help businesses protect themselves from cybercrime during this time of year.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Holiday Cybercrime: Why Distraction Is the Real Threat<\/h2>\n<h3>The Myth of the Busy Hacker<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">Every year, headlines warn that \u201ccybercriminals ramp up during the holidays.\u201d The truth? They don\u2019t have to. Criminals are just as active in July as they are in December. What changes is\u00a0<em>us<\/em>. The holiday season means busier schedules, staff taking time off, year-end financial deadlines, and lots of multitasking. That distraction is exactly what attackers count on.<\/p>\n<p>The result: it feels like there\u2019s a cybercrime surge when really, it\u2019s our guard that\u2019s down.<\/p>\n<h3>Are Cybercriminals Busier During the Holidays?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">No. Attackers don\u2019t suddenly work harder in December. The real risk is that\u00a0<em>we<\/em>\u00a0are more distracted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Context: Staff shortages, employees rushing to close year-end tasks, and more financial transactions all make it easier for fraudulent invoices, phishing emails, or suspicious requests to slip through.<\/p>\n<p>Takeaway: The problem isn\u2019t hyperactive hackers, it\u2019s reduced vigilance during a stressful season.<\/p>\n<h3>Why are Small Businesses Especially Vulnerable During the Holidays?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">Small businesses run lean year-round, which magnifies holiday risks.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li>Fewer people monitoring alerts: Vacations and smaller IT teams mean less coverage.<\/li>\n<li>Faster approvals: Invoices and payments get rubber-stamped without double-checking.<\/li>\n<li>More noise: Fake shipping notices and invoices blend into the real ones.<\/li>\n<li>Burnout: Stressed employees are more likely to click or approve without verifying.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"\">Takeaway: Just because you\u2019re on vacation (or about to leave for it), doesn\u2019t mean you can take a vacation from being vigilant<\/p>\n<h2>What Holiday Scams Should Small Businesses Watch For?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">The holidays amplify familiar threats, making them more effective.<\/p>\n<ol class=\"\">\n<li><a class=\"internal-link\" title=\"Phishing Testing\" href=\"https:\/\/orbitalfire.com\/pages\/phishing_testing_services\/\">Phishing<\/a>\u00a0&amp; \u201cquishing\u201d (voice phishing): Fake invoices, urgent shipping updates, or phone scams requesting account details.<\/li>\n<li>Gift card fraud:\u00a0<a class=\"internal-link\" title=\"Awareness Training\" href=\"https:\/\/orbitalfire.com\/pages\/awareness_training_services\/\">Business Email Compromise<\/a>\u00a0(BEC) scams often trick employees into buying gift cards for a \u201cboss\u201d or \u201cvendor.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Ransomware timing: Attacks often hit holiday weekends, when no one is watching.<\/li>\n<li>Vendor fraud: Fake payment instructions hidden among real vendor requests.<\/li>\n<li><a class=\"internal-link\" title=\"Awareness Training\" href=\"https:\/\/orbitalfire.com\/pages\/awareness_training_services\/\">Employee mistakes<\/a>: Rushed clicks on the wrong link can trigger weeks of cleanup.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"\">Takeaway: The scams don\u2019t change. Our seasonal distraction just makes them easier to pull off.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"\">How Can Small Businesses Protect Themselves During the Holidays?<\/h2>\n<ol class=\"\">\n<li>Assign on-call coverage \u2013 Even minimal monitoring reduces blind spots.<\/li>\n<li>Pause before approving \u2013 Train employees to \u201cstop and verify\u201d unusual requests.<\/li>\n<li>Double-check vendors \u2013 Confirm invoice or payment changes directly.<\/li>\n<li>Run a refresher \u2013 A 15-minute reminder on holiday scams keeps awareness sharp.<\/li>\n<li>Keep your incident response plan ready, and consider refreshing it with an\u00a0<a class=\"internal-link\" title=\"Cybersecurity Incident Response Tabletop\" href=\"https:\/\/orbitalfire.com\/pages\/incident_response_tabletop\/\">Incident Response Tabletop<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"\">Takeaway: A few small adjustments can keep year-end stress from turning into a full-blown cyber incident.<\/p>\n<h2>The OrbitalFire Perspective<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">Hackers don\u2019t suddenly get busier in December. But when your team is distracted, their job gets a whole lot easier.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">That\u2019s why OrbitalFire delivers defenses that work year-round, not just during \u201cCybersecurity Awareness Month\u201d or seasonal spikes. Because cybercrime doesn\u2019t take a vacation\u2014and neither should your defenses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">To learn more about building a Culture of Security,\u00a0<a class=\"internal-link\" title=\"Contact Us #2\" href=\"https:\/\/orbitalfire.com\/pages\/contact\/\">Reach Out to Chat<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Read more about creating a Culture of Security that doesn\u2019t take holidays off,\u00a0\u00a0<a class=\"internal-link\" title=\"READ: Why Cybersecurity Accountability for Small Businesses Starts with One Name\" href=\"https:\/\/orbitalfire.com\/2025\/05\/30\/cybersecurity-accountability\/\">READ: Why Cybersecurity Accountability for Small Businesses Starts with One Name<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For more on protecting your organization from Phishing,\u00a0<a class=\"internal-link\" title=\"READ: The \u2018GAUGES\u2019 Method of Spotting a Phish\" href=\"https:\/\/orbitalfire.com\/2025\/06\/30\/gauges-method-spotting-a-phish\/\">READ: The \u2018GAUGES\u2019 Method of Spotting a Phish<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>GTM\u2019s Cybersecurity Practices<\/h2>\n<p>Security is integral to our operations. It\u2019s at the core of what we do with multiple layers of protection embedded into our products, processes, and infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>Our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/why-gtm\/data-security\/\">state-of-the-art security measures<\/a>\u00a0are designed to safeguard your data from unauthorized access and cyber threats. We employ a robust combination of physical, administrative, and technical controls, including advanced encryption technologies, continuous network monitoring, and strict access controls, ensuring your data is protected around the clock.<\/p>\n<p>GTM undergoes annual security assessments conducted by the New York State Department of Financial Services and adheres to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity standards. GTM also undergoes several third-party audits, including SOC 1, Nacha, and financial statement audits.<\/p>\n<h3>Cyber and Data Breach Liability Insurance<\/h3>\n<p>As an additional security measure, cyber and data breach liability insurance is available in the event of a cyberattack or data breach. A cyber liability and data breach insurance policy can help if your business\u2019s computers are infected with a virus that exposes private or sensitive information, your business is sued for losing customers\u2019 sensitive data, or your business incurs public relations costs to protect its reputation after a data breach.<\/p>\n<p>If you are interested in cyber and data breach insurance, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/gtminsurance.com\/business-insurance\/cyber-data-breach-liability\/\">GTM Insurance Agency<\/a>\u00a0can discuss your options.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/gtminsurance.com\/contact-us\/\">Contact them<\/a>\u00a0for a free quote or more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how small businesses can recognize and protect themselves from cybercrime during the holiday season and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[232],"tags":[150,287,104,18,42],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-17708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gtm-biz-blog-isolved","tag-cybercrime","tag-cybersecurity","tag-data-security","tag-employer-policies","tag-safety"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17708"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18355,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17708\/revisions\/18355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17708"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=17708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}