It’s December, the end-of-year rush is in full swing, and your team is juggling deadlines, deliveries, and holiday plans. But cyber criminals are busy too. They target distracted employees and businesses of all sizes from phishing attacks, scam emails, and even emails pretending to be executives all spiking during this period.
Christmas-themed phishing attacks are up 327% globally and in 2025, an estimated 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent every day. Almost half of them get past standard email filters, landing straight in inboxes when people are most distracted.
No business is immune. One mis-click can have serious consequences. Imagine this; a single employee clicked a fake parcel tracking email. Within minutes, attackers had access to login credentials. The incident caused delayed orders, stressed IT teams, and a costly investigation. This story could happen to any business.
However, strong cyber security practices and managed IT support can keep your business, employees, and sensitive information safe.
Why This Time Of Year Is A Cyber Risk
The festive period creates the perfect opportunity for cyber attacks. Employees rushing to finish year-end tasks, executives travelling between offices, and parcels arriving in high volume, all make people more likely to click on malicious emails.
Key factors that increase risk include:
- Year-end deadlines and project pressure
- High travel and remote work among executives
- Increased online purchases and financial transactions
- A flood of parcel and delivery notifications
UK Businesses Are Being Hit Hard
A UK study found 43% of businesses are targeted by scam emails during the festive period, and in the same study, 83% of employees reported receiving emails impersonating senior executives.
Tactics cyber criminals use include phishing emails, cleverly themed to look legitimate and urgent. Even cautious employees can be tricked with:
- Fake parcel tracking notifications
- Seasonal deal scams that look “too good to be true”
- Spoofed retailer emails
- Fake order confirmations
- Fake emails from your CEO or manager with requests
- Gift card purchase scams
- Messages asking to verify account details
Cyber Training for Employees
Not every attack is sophisticated. Often, it’s about speed and distraction. So here are a few ways employees can protect themselves:
- Pause before clicking – hover over links, check the sender, and look for odd formatting.
- Type addresses manually – avoid clicking links in suspicious emails.
- Avoid public WiFi for work – networks in cafés, trains or airports are vulnerable.
- Verify unusual requests – call or forward emails to your IT or security team if something feels off.
- Report suspicious emails – don’t ignore anything unexpected.
Why Managed IT Support Matters
With IT budgets stretched and teams busy, many business struggle to monitor the surge in attacks. That’s where managed IT support and cyber security services make a difference. Working with a third-party MSP like Netcentrix, your business can get proactive protection with:
- 24/7 monitoring and alerting
- Advanced email defence
- SOC-backed threat detection
- Patch and vulnerability management
- MFA enforcement and security policy controls
- Microsoft 365 configuration and Secure Score optimisation
- Support responding to suspicious emails
Want to understand your organisation’s current security posture?
Get in touch with our team. We will assess your environment, identify risks, and strengthen your defences. Call us on 0333 305 1023 or complete our contact form and we will be in touch.
