Summer scams: what the seasonal fraud playbook means for teams

TL;DR: Summer conditions such as travel, event demand and disrupted routines give scammers more openings, according to Feedzai, while Gallup data cited in the article shows 15.1 million American adults lost about $68.5 billion to scams in 2025. The governance lesson is that fraud controls must be tuned for urgency, mobile payments and identity verification, not just ordinary transaction monitoring.

Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Feedzai: “Summer Scams: What to Watch For and How to Stay Safe”.

By the numbers:

• Approximately 15.1 million people have lost money to scams, according to Gallup data cited by Feedzai.

Key questions

Q: What are the best practices for reducing authorised scam payments during peak travel seasons?

A: Use step-up verification when a transaction is unusual, high urgency or payment-method sensitive.

Q: Why do scammers focus on travel, tickets and rentals during the summer?

A: Those scenarios create urgency, limited availability and emotional pressure, all of which lower scrutiny.

Q: What are the signs that a seasonal scam is likely to succeed?

A: Look for urgency language, off-platform payment demands, mismatched URLs, fake login prompts and prices that are far below market reality.

Practitioner guidance

• Strengthen step-up checks for urgent payments Add friction when users attempt high-risk payments under time pressure, especially for rentals, tickets and travel-related transactions.
• Verify counterparties through trusted channels Require users to confirm booking websites, support numbers and invitation sources from a known directory or saved bookmark, not from the message itself.
• Flag irreversible payment methods as elevated risk Escalate or block requests that push users toward peer-to-peer apps, crypto or gift cards when the transaction context is inconsistent with normal merchant behaviour.

Bottom line: Seasonal scams exploit urgency, disrupted routines and emotional pressure to get victims to authorise transactions they would normally inspect more closely.

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