Help Your Family (Especially Grandma and Grandpa) Stay Safe This Holiday Season With Bitdefender’s Free Toolbox

Scammers are extremely active over Christmas and the holiday season, using fake shopping sites, delivery scams, charity fraud, and impersonation to target families. With more online shopping, more travel, and more messages going back and forth, December has become one of the busiest months for cybercriminals worldwide.

To help protect your loved ones, especially grandparents who may be more vulnerable, Bitdefender offers a suite of free, easy-to-use tools that act as a safety net for the entire family.

Be On Alert For

1. Delivery Scams: The Text Grandma Should Never Tap

Scammers love sending texts like:
“Your package is waiting”
“Pay a small fee to release your delivery”

Grandparents receiving gifts from the whole family may be extra vulnerable.

How to protect them:

• Don’t click delivery links from texts. Always check your package status on the retailer’s official website or app. Run it through Bitdefender Link Checker to immediately check if the link is fraudulent.
• Never pay unexpected “redelivery fees.” Real carriers don’t charge extra through text messages.
• Look closely at the sender. Odd email addresses and unexpected attachments are big red flags.
• Before anyone clicks a tracking link, paste it into Bitdefender Scamio and it will instantly tell her whether it’s safe.

These tools require no installation and no technical skills, just perfect for seniors.

2. Fake Holiday Deals: When Grandpa Thinks He Found the ‘Perfect Gift’

Grandparents often go the extra mile to find the perfect present … and scammers know it.
Fake online stores, phony discounts, and impersonated brands are everywhere this time of year.

Family safety tip:
If grandpa finds an amazing deal, he can quickly paste the URL into Link Checker. If the deal is fake, the tool will warn him instantly. If he’s unsure, Scamio can review the entire message or ad with just a screenshot.

Additionally:

• Always be wary of huge discounts. If a deal looks unbelievable, it usually is.
• Check for HTTPS, real contact information and customer reviews on third-party websites
• Use a credit card, not a debit card. It offers better fraud protection.

 3. Charity Scams Playing on Kind Hearts

The season of giving brings a flood of fake charities and emotional appeals. Seniors are particularly targeted because scammers know they tend to be more generous.

Staying Safe: Urge older relatives to double-check the legitimacy of charities they want to donate to. Send questionable charity emails and QR codes to Scamio for a second opinion or use Link Checker to get an extra pair of eyes on potentially scam links.

Additionally:

• Give through official sites only and never via email links.
• Avoid rushed donations
• Search for the charity online. Legitimate groups have a history, reviews, and transparency reports.

4. When Scammers Pretend a Loved One Is in Trouble

In this scam, fraudsters call or text pretending to be a grandchild or relative in distress:

• “Grandma, I’ve been in an accident… please don’t tell mom.”
• “Grandpa, I’m in jail, and I need bail money.”
• “I lost my phone, and I’m borrowing a friend’s. Can you help me?”
• “The police stopped me; I need money urgently.”

The goal is always the same: to create panic and prevent the victim from verifying the story, pushing them to send money fast. These scams deliberately target older family members who would do anything to protect someone they love.

How to protect grandma and grandpa

• Pause and verify. If a message or call sounds urgent or emotional, encourage grandparents to take a breath and check the caller.
• Never send money based on a single call or text.
• Set a family rule: No real emergency is handled through gift cards, rushed transfers, or secrecy.
• Use Bitdefender Scamio to review suspicious messages or emotional pleas. It can spot known scam patterns instantly.

Reassure older relatives that it’s always okay to call another family member to confirm, no matter how urgent the situation seems. Scammers count on silence but verification breaks their script.

 5. Holiday Travel Scams

Fake rentals, cloned hotel websites, and phony booking confirmations are extremely common ruses in December and beyond. Many seniors traveling to see family feel pressured to react quickly to supposed “cancellations.”

How to protect older travelers:

• Run any link through Link Checker
• Use Scamio for suspicious messages about flights or hotel issues
• Book only through official airline or hotel websites
• Avoid rentals that demand immediate bank transfers
• Double-check any alert claiming a booking is cancelled – go directly to the provider's app

Your Bitdefender Holiday Safety Toolbox (100% Free and Senior-Friendly)

Bitdefender Scamio

A gentle, friendly AI helper that grandparents can use by simply typing a question or uploading a screenshot. It explains risks in plain language.

Bitdefender Link Checker

Paste a link in the link checker landing page in your browser → get an answer.
Fast, simple, and ideal for seniors handling delivery notices or shopping links.

Bitdefender Free Antivirus

If you set up a laptop for a parent or grandparent this year, protect it with reliable, free antivirus that runs quietly in the background.

Give Your Family the Gift of Real Protection This Season

While Bitdefender’s free tools are a powerful safety net during the holidays, many families want an extra layer of protection that stays with them year-round.

If you’re looking for a fully-fledged family security suite that protects everyone in the family, from tech-savvy teens to grandparents, Bitdefender offers award-winning antivirus and advanced anti-fraud, anti-phishing, and anti-scam technologies for all major operating systems.

It’s an easy, thoughtful way to make sure every device in the household is protected, every online moment is safer, and every family member feels supported, no matter where they are or what they’re doing.