Before you go, we thought you'd like these...  The holiday season is a time when we are especially prone to donating to a good cause, and it is also a time when scam artists come out of the woodwork to prey on our generosity. This year a different kind of scam plays off everyone's favorite jolly old elf.  The scam starts when you receive an unsolicited email encouraging you to purchase a "handwritten letter from Santa to your child" with an "official" nice-list certification. Free shipping is included -- but only if you act within the next hour.  The cost is $19.99, and you might assume that the scam is that you pay for a letter that never arrives. That is correct. But what also happens is that within minutes, the credit card number and personal information that you provide is used to make fraudulent purchases. And if you use a debit card, chances are your bank account will be cleaned out before the end of the day.  A less destructive version doesn't need a credit card but does require that you provide personal information that is sold to spammers and telemarketers.  Of course, not every offer for a message from Santa is a scam. Sites like Portable North Pole have been providing personalized video greetings from Santa for years –- for free and without the need to give a credit card number or personal information.  The Better Business Bureau offers these guidelines for avoiding online scams:  When it comes to charities, one way to avoid scams is to only donate to organizations that you know are legitimate and have worked with in the past. But as scam artists get more sophisticated they are even able to spoof – or create -- fake websites that look like those of established charities.  The best way to make sure you are donating to a legitimate charity is to do it in person at one of its offices or to call the charity and ask for a contributor's package to be mailed to you.
The scam starts with a pitch for a customized letter from Santa. It ends with you losing big time.