With Christmas just days away, phishers are enjoying the festive season by scamming their way into bank accounts around the world.

According to IT security vendor Clearswift, a growing number of phishers are expected to strike in December and January using spam as a means to carrying out their ‘phishy’ business.

So be aware. To avoid phish for Christmas, keep a couple things in mind. Always be skeptical of emails from unknown senders. Also be on the lookout for emails disguised at Christmas cards—phishers use this method as lots of people get Christmas cards from people they can barely remember so they’ll open them.

“If people get Christmas cards and they don’t remember the name and click on the link to see if they remember the person—bingo, you’re caught,” said Peter Croft, Managing Director at Clearswift Asia-Pacific.

With today’s advanced phishing techniques you don’t even have to enter your personal details on a bogus website to make yourself vulnerable to attack. Just opening a malicious email is enough.

So for the remainder of the holiday season and into the New Year, be ultra alert and make sure that your security applications are up-to-date. For those of you who are shopping online, make sure you don’t get fooled by any other holiday spam hitting computers.

Here’s a list of the online Christmas email scams currently in circulation:

• Christmas dinner—eat with no worries
• Send the kids a letter from Santa
• Holiday Hint #1: Shop Now, Get Free Shipping
• Holiday Treats and free gift from Jelly Belly

If, unfortunately, you think you’ve been duped contact the Australian Internet Industry Association (AIIA) or the police so you can help others avoid phish for Christmas.