Christmas Cybercrime: How Hackers Target Small Businesses in December

Cybercrime Is Rising — Here’s How It Hits Small Businesses

Christmas cybercrime grows every year, and hackers know exactly when to strike: right when businesses are distracted by sales, staffing shortages, heavy travel, and a surge in online activity. Christmas cybercrime increases because holiday traffic creates the perfect cover for malicious activity. During December, networks see more logins, more email volume, and more website traffic, which makes harmful activity blend in with the noise.

Even worse, cybercriminals target small businesses specifically, because they assume small teams won’t notice unusual behavior until it’s too late. That assumption is often correct, unless the business has layered security and 24/7 monitoring in place.

Below are the top five most popular holiday-season cyberattacks, how they work, and how small businesses can stay safe.

Christmas Cybercrime: How Hackers Target Small Businesses in December

1. Phishing & Email Spoofing Surge During Holiday Sales

Phishing attacks always increase in December. Hackers send fake invoices, shipping notices, donation requests, and HR updates, all designed to look legitimate. Heavy seasonal inbox traffic helps disguise malicious emails, and employees tend to skim messages faster during busy year-end operations.

Why it works in December:
Online orders, vendor notices, and customer support emails spike dramatically. Attackers use that chaos to slip poisoned links and attachments into your inbox.

Protect Your Business:

2. Credential Stuffing & Password Attacks

Hackers rely on the fact that employees reuse passwords across personal and business accounts. December brings major retail breaches each year, which means compromised consumer credentials quickly turn into business attacks within hours.

Why it works in December:
Gift shopping leads employees to log in from work devices or business networks. If their credentials were leaked, attackers can immediately try the same passwords on business portals.

Protect Your Business:

  • Implement STS Cyber Essentials with Enterprise Password Manager, which enforces unique passwords and detects compromised credentials.
  • Require passkeys or MFA for sensitive applications.
  • Run a holiday credential audit to see which logins need strengthening.

3. Ransomware Hidden in Holiday Traffic

Ransomware gangs choose December because outages are extra painful during the revenue-heavy Christmas rush, making companies more likely to pay. Attackers often spend weeks inside a network before deploying the final attack, blending their data movements into the influx of legitimate traffic.

Why it works in December:
Massive online shopping activity and year-end operations generate high data flow. Suspicious traffic is harder to spot without 24/7 monitoring.

Protect Your Business:

  • Use STS Monitored IT for real-time threat detection and automated alerts.
  • Deploy enterprise-grade antivirus (By SofTouch) to detect malware early.
  • Maintain verified off-site backups to restore operations without paying ransom.

4. Fake Charity Scams & Social Engineering

Hackers exploit the generosity of the season. They impersonate local charities, employees, or vendors asking for holiday donations, wire transfers, gift card purchases, or invoice changes.

Why it works in December:
Staff are busy, distracted, and often working remotely. Finance teams handle extra invoices and year-end reconciliations. Attackers use timing to rush people into making mistakes.

Protect Your Business:

  • Train employees with short monthly security reminders (STS Cyber Essentials includes this).
  • Create a “financial change” verification rule, requiring verbal confirmation from vendors before updating bank info.
  • Use Enterprise Password Manageer by SofTouch for secure sharing of financial logins or vendor accounts.

5. E-Commerce Skimming & Website Injection

Businesses with online stores or payment portals face increased risk of card skimmers, malicious plugins, and script injections. Attackers target smaller businesses because their sites often lack enterprise-grade monitoring.

Why it works in December:
Online sales drive traffic spikes, and malicious scripts disappear into the crowd. Many businesses also pause development updates in December, leaving vulnerabilities untouched.

Protect Your Business:

  • Enable STS website and network monitoring to detect strange behavior instantly.
  • Audit your plugins and themes before the holiday rush.
  • Use managed backups to restore your site fast if compromised.

Why December Makes Cybercrime Harder to Detect

Holiday operations create a perfect storm:

  • More logins = suspicious attempts blend into normal patterns
  • More emails = malicious messages go unnoticed
  • More customer traffic = injected scripts hide in plain sight
  • More remote work = more unsecured devices
  • More stress & distraction = humans make faster decisions with less scrutiny

Hackers count on this chaos. That’s why they hit in December and why small businesses need layered protection long before Christmas week arrives.

How STS Protects Texas Small Businesses All Season Long

At SofTouch Systems, we help Central & South Texas businesses stay secure all year, especially during high-risk seasons. Our No-Surprise IT promise gives your business predictable protection with enterprise-grade tools and Texas-friendly support.

STS Solutions to Stop Christmas Cybercrime:

  • Monitored IT: 24/7 network monitoring + Bitdefender antivirus
  • Cyber Essentials: EPM onboarding, MFA enforcement, password audits
  • Managed Backups: Nightly verification and off-site protection
  • Help Desk & Incident Response: Fast support when something looks off
  • Security Training: Short lessons that prevent costly mistakes

When attackers try to blend into holiday traffic, STS separates the noise from the threats, and keeps your business running.

What is a Firewall? The first line of defense for your business network.
Learn More

In IT, Proactivity is Cheaper than Procrastination

Don’t let Christmas cybercrime disrupt your business.
Schedule your Free 15-Minute IT Audit today and see how you stack up against the most common holiday threats.

softouchsystems.com | “No-Surprise IT” for Texas Businesses

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Microsoft 365 vs. Google Workspace: Which Fits Your Business?

For small and midsize businesses, productivity software is the digital backbone of daily operations. Two names dominate the landscape—Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Both are powerful, cloud-based ecosystems that deliver communication, file storage, and collaboration tools your team depends on. But which platform truly fits your business workflow and culture?

At SofTouch Systems, we work with clients who use both solutions—and sometimes even both in the same organization. We believe the right choice depends on your goals. It also depends on your work style. Additionally, your team’s comfort level is important.

Understanding the Core Difference

At their heart, both platforms offer email, calendar, word processing, spreadsheets, video meetings, and shared storage.
The real distinction lies in ecosystem philosophy:

  • Microsoft 365 is built around deep-feature desktop applications refined over decades—Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook—now seamlessly integrated into the cloud.
  • Google Workspace was born in the cloud. It was optimized for real-time collaboration. Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Gmail are accessible instantly from any browser.

One values power and familiarity; the other prizes simplicity and speed.

Why Some Choose Microsoft 365

1. Advanced Integration and Offline Power

Microsoft 365 shines where businesses need full-featured software that can operate online or offline. Excel’s advanced formulas make it indispensable for industries that handle complex data sets. Power BI analytics add powerful insights. Outlook’s integration with Exchange supports regulatory reporting. Think finance, manufacturing, and professional services.
Offline access ensures productivity even when internet reliability fluctuates a common concern for rural or field-based Texas businesses.

2. Layered Security and Compliance

Microsoft’s enterprise-grade security stack includes Defender for Office 365, Purview compliance tools, and built-in encryption. These features support strict standards like HIPAA and GDPR. Multi-factor authentication, conditional access, and data-loss prevention policies protect sensitive data across devices.

For SMBs handling regulated information or client records, that control is a major asset. Paired with STS’s “No Surprise IT” management, these features deliver predictable security and audit-ready compliance without enterprise-level overhead.

Why Other SMBs Prefer Google Workspace

1. Real-Time Collaboration Without Complexity

Google Workspace thrives on speed and simplicity. Teams can co-edit Docs, Sheets, or Slides at the same time without version conflicts or email attachments. Its intuitive interface reduces learning curves. This makes it a favorite for remote teams, startups, and creative shops. These groups value fluid collaboration.

Workspace is also device-agnostic: a Chromebook, Mac, or Windows PC all share the same experience through the browser.

2. Simple Management and Lower Entry Cost

Google’s all-inclusive pricing structure appeals to businesses that need quick deployment with minimal IT overhead. Admins can set up users, enforce security policies, and connect apps through a central dashboard in minutes. Native integration with Google Meet, Chat, and Drive keeps everything in one place without third-party plug-ins.

For SMBs with limited budgets or lean staff, Workspace offers a clean and predictable path to modern collaboration.

Productivity Face-Off: Feature Highlights

CategoryMicrosoft 365 AdvantageGoogle Workspace Advantage
Email & CalendarOutlook’s rules, shared mailboxes, and Exchange back-end scale easily.Gmail’s search and spam filtering are legendary for simplicity.
Documents & SpreadsheetsExcel and Word remain industry standards with advanced formatting and macros.Sheets and Docs enable instant multi-user editing and auto-save.
Video MeetingsTeams integrates chat, files, and calls within one hub.Meet runs smoothly in browser with no downloads needed.
Storage & SharingOneDrive for Business offers versioning and robust permissions.Drive makes sharing external files frictionless and intuitive.
Security ControlsConditional Access, Defender, and Data Loss Prevention are deep and customizable.Simple admin dashboard with MFA and trusted devices by default.

Strategic Considerations for Small Business Owners

  1. Budget vs. Depth – Workspace’s plans start cheaper, but Microsoft bundles more software value (long-term savings for mixed workflows).
  2. Existing Tools – If your team relies on legacy Excel macros or Access databases, Microsoft is the safer bet. If you’re fully cloud-native, Google may be leaner.
  3. Device Ecosystem – Chromebooks pair naturally with Workspace; Windows devices thrive in Microsoft 365.
  4. Security Oversight – Both platforms offer strong security options. Microsoft’s granular controls benefit regulated industries. Google’s simplicity benefits small teams without dedicated IT.
  5. Support and Integration – STS manages both platforms under the same “No-Surprise IT” umbrella. This includes backup, monitoring, and password security through 1Password.
SofTouch Systems Simplifying Technology, Maximizing Results

Where Both Platforms Shine Together

Many Texas businesses mix and match solutions: Microsoft for core desktop apps and Google for lightweight collaboration or shared forms. With the right setup, your business can leverage the strengths of both—without sacrificing security or usability.

At SofTouch Systems, we often integrate these environments with single sign-on, centralized password management (via 1Password), and backup automation. That means your team can work on the platform they prefer while we keep everything secured and synced.

Productivity Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

Choosing between Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace isn’t about which brand is better—it’s about which fits how your team works. Both are strong investments in efficiency and collaboration. The right choice depends on your workflow, industry needs, and security standards.

STS helps businesses across Texas evaluate, deploy, and support either platform—with flat per-user pricing, public SLAs, and no-surprise billing. You may lean toward Microsoft’s depth. Or you might prefer Google’s simplicity. Our goal remains the same. We aim to make your technology reliable. It should be secure. It must be ready for whatever comes next.

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How to Spot a Phishing Email

Every business owner has seen it — that email that looks almost right. It could be a message from “your bank” asking you to confirm your credentials. It might be an invoice from a vendor that feels off. One wrong click can open the door to stolen passwords, ransomware, or data loss.

Knowing how to spot a phishing email could save your business thousands of dollars and days of downtime.

At SofTouch Systems, we help Texas businesses stay secure with managed IT services, password management, and 24/7 network monitoring. Here’s how to protect your inbox — and your bottom line.

How to Spot a Phishing Email

What Is a Phishing Email?

Phishing emails are digital bait. These messages are designed to trick you into sharing confidential information like passwords. They may also target your payment data or access credentials.
They often appear to come from trusted sources: your bank, a delivery company, or even someone inside your organization.

Attackers use these scams to steal login details or install malware. Once they’re in, they can move through your systems silently, stealing data or launching ransomware attacks.

Phishing remains one of the top causes of data breaches for small businesses — because it targets people, not systems.

Common Red Flags to Watch For

Here’s how to recognize a phishing email before it reaches your team’s inbox:

Red FlagWhat It MeansWhat You Should Do
Strange or unfamiliar senderThe name looks right, but the email address doesn’t match your contact’s domain (e.g., [email protected]).Hover over the sender’s address. If the domain looks odd, delete the message.
Urgent or threatening languagePhrases like “Your account will be closed today” or “Immediate payment required.”Pause. Legitimate organizations don’t threaten or rush you into action.
Suspicious links or attachmentsThe link text looks normal, but the URL preview shows a different address. Attachments are .zip, .exe, or .scr files.Don’t click or download. Access your account by typing the real web address manually.
Unexpected requests for credentials or moneyThe email asks you to log in, reset a password, or send funds to a “new” account.Never send passwords or money based on an email alone — confirm by phone or in person.
Generic greetings or poor formatting“Dear Customer,” misspellings, and odd phrasing are warning signs.Treat any unprofessional or impersonal message with caution.

Pro Tip: Hover before you click. If the link preview doesn’t match the sender or seems unrelated, it’s likely a trap.

How Phishing Has Changed

Phishing attacks have become more sophisticated and harder to detect:

  • AI-generated emails look grammatically perfect and can mimic your vendors or coworkers.
  • Business email compromise (BEC) attacks target company executives and accounting departments with believable requests.
  • Multi-channel phishing happens through texts, QR codes, or even phone calls pretending to be IT support.

Modern threats require modern awareness — training once a year isn’t enough.

Build a Human Firewall

Technology can block many threats, but your employees are the most important line of defense.
Here’s how to keep your team sharp and your systems secure:

  1. Train Regularly
    Conduct short, quarterly phishing-awareness refreshers. Realistic examples stick better than slideshows.
  2. Run Simulated Phishing Tests
    Send safe “fake” phishing emails to your staff. Track who clicks, who reports, and where training needs to improve.
  3. Establish a Reporting Process
    Make it easy for employees to forward suspicious messages to your IT team. Reward those who report attempts.
  4. Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
    Even if someone falls for a phishing email, MFA stops attackers from logging in with stolen passwords.
  5. Use Managed Security Services
    Partnering with a Managed Service Provider, such as SofTouch Systems, provides constant monitoring. It includes advanced email filtering. This partnership ensures a rapid response when something slips through.

SofTouch Systems Can Help

We don’t just tell you to be careful — we give you the tools and support to stay protected.

Our Cyber Essentials Lite bundle includes:

  • 1Password Business Integration – Protect every login with secure vaults and passkey support.
  • Bitdefender Managed Antivirus – Blocks infected attachments and links automatically.
  • 24/7 Network Monitoring – Flags suspicious behavior before it becomes a problem.
  • Phishing Simulation and Employee Training – Build awareness through experience, not guesswork.

And, because we believe in No-Surprise IT, all our packages come with transparent pricing, public SLAs, and predictable monthly costs.

Free Resource: “How to Spot a Phishing Email” Guide

We’ve created a free downloadable guide you can share with your team. It includes a one-page checklist. There are also real-world examples to help employees identify and report phishing emails confidently.

Download the Guide Here →

Keep it on your company intranet, share it during staff onboarding, or print copies for your office.

Final Thoughts

Phishing attacks aren’t going away — they’re getting smarter.
But with awareness, training, and the right security partner, your business can stay one step ahead.

If you’re ready to strengthen your team’s defenses, schedule a free 15-minute IT consultation with SofTouch Systems today. We’ll review your email security, phishing prevention measures, and staff readiness — at no cost.