Holiday Safety in a Heightened Security Environment

With the holidays upon us, Concentric’s corporate intelligence team offers the following recommendations to keep you, your family, and business activities safe, particularly in a heightened security environment. We urge all holiday revelers to remain vigilant during the next several weeks, particularly in light of the recent shooting of UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brian Thompson, terrorist threats, and the upcoming presidential inauguration. Threat actors might be looking to target gatherings, unsuspecting shoppers, and tourists.  

• Anti-CEO sentiment is on the rise since the killing of Mr. Thompson on December 4, adding fuel to tense discussions regarding wealth and the role of corporations in American society. Many social media users expressed satisfaction over the tragic incident because of their displeasure with the health insurance industry. 
• Illinois law enforcement officers warned local citizens on November 20 to remain alert during the holiday season after ISIS posted a message urging followers in the U.S. and other western nations to “Make it Miserable” for Christians. Investigators are not aware of any specific threats but urged all residents to maintain awareness, particularly when attending large gatherings. 
• Governments throughout the world have issued warnings to citizens to stay aware of their surroundings during the holidays, especially because of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and the tenuous situation throughout the Middle East. The Belgium government announced on December 3 it is maintaining its high threat level throughout the holiday season because of the possibility of terrorist attacks. The U.K. government in October 2024 advised citizens to avoid crowded places in Sri Lanka because of the heightened risk of terrorism. 
• Protesters have taken to the streets in major U.S. cities in recent weeks to demonstrate against Donald Trump’s second term in office. Additional protests are anticipated in cities such as Washington D.C. and New York City, especially closer to the inauguration on January 20, 2025. Local officials state they are committed to ensuring security and travelers to these regions should anticipate an additional widespread security presence in the runup to inauguration day. 

How to Keep Yourself, Your Family, and Your Business Secure During the Holiday Season

Concentric’s corporate intelligence team offers the following recommendations to keep you, your family, and business activities safe during this joyful and festive season:

Corporate Gatherings. Conferences, parties, and other corporate events allow companies to gather together and celebrate their accomplishments before the end of the year. These gatherings also provide opportunities for malicious actors to target personnel and company property because of the concentration of people, sensitive information and assets in one location. 

• Plan transportation for you, your family, and your guests in advance. 
• Alter your routine to ensure you are not predictable with your movements.
• Keep your phone charged so you are prepared in the event of an emergency.
• Lookout for uninvited guests and anything out of the ordinary, particularly current or former disgruntled employees and anyone who might hold a grievance with the organization. 
• Ensure the proper security procedures to prevent any unauthorized access to your gathering, even during parties. In one instance, two armed robbers broke into a Los Angeles home during a party, and stripped guests of jewelry, phones, and other valuables. 
• Be mindful of any possible safety and health risks to your event, including accidents as a result of party activities, health emergencies, and possible natural hazards during the time of your meeting or party. 
• Be careful with what you share on social media. Criminals may watch your social media to identify the time and location of your event.

Online Holiday Shopping. Online holiday shopping presents a prime opportunity for criminals to target shoppers and tourists through schemes and cyber attacks. Perpetrators may steal your identity, make purchases using your credit card information, or insert malicious software onto your personal devices. These schemes and scams come in many forms: 

• Online Scams. Emails, ads, or untrusted websites which advertise discounts, bargains, and hard to find brand-name products which turn out to not be real or the same as what is advertised upon arrival. Scams can also take the form of social media posts, often appearing as holiday promotions or contests which offer vouchers, gift cards, freebies, contests, and non-existent or counterfeit items. These methods are often designed to trick consumers into revealing personal information which can be used to commit identity theft or fraud. 
• Fake Charities. Perpetrators may create false charities to trick individuals into making donations to legitimate charitable organizations. Solicitations can come through cold calls, email campaigns, crowdfunding platforms, or fake social media accounts and websites. 
• Fraudulent Gift Cards. Holiday shoppers may receive spoofed emails, phone calls, or texts from individuals who appear to be friends requesting they purchase multiple gift cards for either personal or business reasons. The gift cards are then used to facilitate the purchase of goods and services, which may or may not be legitimate.
• SMShing (SMS phishing via text message). These often appear as notifications from logistics companies (USPS, UPS, FedEx) related to items in transit. They contain links to fraudulent websites that are used to capture credentials or other sensitive information.

Concentric recommends several steps to avoid online holiday shopping scams: 

• Verify the legitimacy of websites before providing financial or personal information.
• Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) on your personal and professional accounts and devices.
• Use strong passwords and a password manager to generate and store unique passwords.
• If the deal from an unknown seller looks too good to be true, it probably is.
• Examine the URL to ensure it starts with “https”–”s” stands for secure and helps to signify the QR code and link is safe. 
• Do not click on email or text message links from unknown senders and verify any “known” senders. 

Holiday Travels. If you choose to travel during the holidays, you are likely to face heightened security risks posed by malicious actors who target unsuspecting tourists. Malicious actors may attempt to break into holiday accommodations or rental cars, pickpocket wallets, and snatch and grab purses or shopping bags. Travelers should also be wary of cyber attacks, particularly while abroad. Travelers are particularly at risk of physical theft of devices, having their identity and data stolen while using public networks, malware planted on their devices and targeted ransom attacks, and cryptojacking of their devices to mine cryptocurrencies.

Concentric recommends taking the following actions to deter criminals while traveling:

• Maintain awareness of your surroundings at all times. 
• Avoid openly wearing or carrying high-value items. 
• Stay away from large gatherings as much as possible. 
• Utilize a VPN while traveling.
• Avoid connecting to unsecure public Wi-Fi (such as at hotels, airports, and cafes).
• Install remote wipe capability on all devices.
• Purchase business travel insurance to mitigate potential damages due to stolen devices or data.

Homes for the Holidays. Whether you’re traveling or staying in for the festive season, homes filled with valuables and gifts offer prime targets for criminals. These nefarious actors are likely to be on the lookout for residents away on extended holiday travel, leaving homes empty and prime for break-ins. By the time you realize a burglary has occurred, it could be too late. 

Concentric recommends taking the following actions to protect your home and business during the holiday season:

• Do not place your travel plans on social media or leave notes on the door which inform neighbors or delivery companies of your absence. Instead contact them directly to provide them with instructions during your absence.
• Keep some lights on and/or a TV or radio playing on low volume while away to give the impression someone is home.
• Lock all doors and windows – opportunistic burglars will often change targets when presented with even the littlest of deterrence.

Concentric’s Intelligence and Security Services 

Concentric is here to help protect you, your family and your staff. Consider reaching out to a Concentric representative for any of the following services:

• Armed and unarmed Executive Protection agents and secure drivers that accompany you during high-risk events and travel, or protect your home or offices while abroad;
• Active monitoring services to highlight potential fixated individuals and protect you during upcoming travel and high-profile events;
• Security risk assessments that highlight physical vulnerabilities around your residence and during key events, and to identify possible insider threats;
• Cyber vulnerability assessments which identify weaknesses in your cyber practices to help mitigate hacking and doxxing attempts; 
• Eclipse by Concentric scrubs personal identifiable information from the internet and provides solutions for ransomware.