Secure4Peace Holiday Safety Guide 2026

Protect the people, purchases, packages and home you worked for all year to enjoy. Twelve short checklists, one for each part of the holiday season, with links to official sources.

The holidays are busy, and that is exactly what scammers, porch thieves and careless mistakes count on. You do not need to do everything on this page. Pick the checklists that fit your life, tick off what you can, and come back to the rest later.

1. Shop only where you can check who you are dealing with

• Type the store’s web address yourself, or use the store’s official app, instead of clicking an ad or a message.
• Look for “https” and a padlock, but remember a padlock alone does not prove a shop is honest.
• Read reviews from outside the shop’s own site, and check who the seller is and how to reach them.
• Be careful with deals that look too good to be true. The FBI holiday scams page lists that as a classic warning sign.

Source: FBI holiday scams page.

2. Pay in ways you can dispute

• Use a credit card or another payment method that lets you dispute a charge if the item never comes.
• Avoid sellers who ask you to pay by wire transfer or gift card, which are very hard to get back.
• If something goes wrong, contact your card company or bank right away, and report it at ic3.gov.

Source: FBI holiday scams page.

3. Know the four most common holiday shopping frauds

The FBI groups many holiday shopping scams into a few types. Knowing them makes them easier to spot.

• Non-delivery: you pay, and the item never arrives.
• Non-payment: you sell something and never get paid.
• Auction fraud: the item is not what was advertised.
• Gift card fraud: someone pushes you to pay with gift cards.

Source: FBI holiday scams page.

4. Buy and use gift cards safely

• Check the packaging on store-bought cards for signs of tampering before you buy.
• Keep a copy of the card and the receipt.
• Remember: only scammers ask you to pay by reading out gift card numbers and PINs. Real businesses and government offices do not.

Source for keeping the card and receipt and for the warning about numbers and PINs: FTC gift card guidance.

5. Do not trust surprise texts, emails and QR codes

• Treat unexpected “your package is delayed” or “payment failed” messages as suspect, even if they look official.
• Do not click links in unsolicited texts or emails. Go to the company’s website or app yourself.
• Do not scan QR codes from unknown sources.
• Learn the warning signs in our guide: How to Recognize a Phishing Email Before It Tricks You.

Source: U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and our own guidance.

6. Lock down your accounts before you shop

• Use a long, unique password for each important account. Our guide: How to Create Strong Passwords.
• Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA), also called two-factor or two-step sign-in, especially for email, banking and shopping accounts. See Two-Factor Authentication Explained.
• Consider a password manager so you never have to remember or reuse passwords. See Password Managers Explained.

Sources: CISA: Use Strong Passwords and CISA: Turn On MFA.

7. Set up new gadgets and Wi-Fi safely

• When you open a new phone, tablet, camera or smart device, change any default password right away and install available updates.
• Give guests a separate guest Wi-Fi network if your router offers one.
• Take 10 minutes to check your home network. Our guide: Securing Your Home Wi-Fi Network in 10 Minutes.

8. Protect your packages

• Pick up deliveries promptly, and ask a neighbor to grab packages if you are out.
• Use tracking alerts and consider USPS Informed Delivery so you can see what is arriving.
• Ask for Signature Confirmation on valuable items, or choose Hold for Pickup or a secure pickup location.
• Make sure the tracking message you receive really comes from the carrier’s own website or app.

Source: USPS Project Safe Holiday Delivery.

Go deeper: our full guide, How to Stop Package Theft This Holiday Season, covers the free fixes, the two purchases that help, and what to do if a package goes missing.

9. Traveling? Hold the mail and secure the house

• Use USPS Hold Mail if you will be away. It is free, needs a USPS.com account, and holds mail for at least 3 days and up to 30 days.
• Avoid posting your travel dates and photos publicly until you are back.
• Follow our full checklist: How to Protect Your Home While Traveling.

Source: USPS Hold Mail.

10. Check your doors, locks and cameras

• Test every exterior lock and make sure doors and windows close and latch properly.
• Keep gifts out of view from windows, and break down boxes so they are not a shopping list for passers-by.
• Review our checklists: 25 Things to Check Today, Best Door Locks, and Best Home Security Cameras.

11. Keep the kitchen and decorations fire-safe

• Stay in the kitchen while you cook. The NFPA cooking safety page says unattended cooking is the leading cause of kitchen fires.
• Keep candles, lights and decorations away from anything that can burn, and never leave candles burning when you leave the room or go to bed.
• Check that smoke alarms work. See more holiday fire tips on the NFPA winter holidays page.

Sources: NFPA cooking safety page and NFPA winter holidays page.

12. Be ready for outages and emergencies

• Winter storms can knock out power during a holiday. Keep flashlights, batteries, phone chargers and a small supply of water and food handy.
• Make a simple plan for your family, including where to meet and who to call. See the Emergency Preparedness Checklist.
• Know what to do when the lights go out: Power Outage Preparedness.

If something goes wrong

Contact your card company or bank right away. Report online shopping fraud at ic3.gov. Report mail theft or mail-related fraud to the Postal Inspection Service at uspis.gov/report, or call 1-877-876-2455. Find more consumer help at consumer.ftc.gov. If you are in danger or a crime is happening now, call 911.

Related holiday shopping

Shopping for gifts? Our sister site ShopBuyZones has a hub with deal-checking tips, gift ideas and shopping plans: ShopBuyZones Holiday Shopping Center.

Source pages linked above were checked on September 20, 2026. Rules and phone numbers can change, so use the official page for the latest.