You'd Better Watch Out: Avast Launches Animated Series to Help People Outsmart "Scam-mas" Tricksters
Avast (NASDAQ: GEN) launched a new animated YouTube series, "The Twelve Days of Scam-mas", to teach holiday scam awareness from December 1–12, 2025.
Rhea-AI Summary
Avast (NASDAQ: GEN) launched a new animated YouTube series, "The Twelve Days of Scam-mas", to teach holiday scam awareness from December 1–12, 2025. Avast will publish a new one-minute episode each day at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET, using festive stories and a character named Deceivus to illustrate common seasonal scams.
Gen researchers say attacks from fake online shopping sites more than doubled last holiday season and Gen blocked over 1.26 million fake ads; nearly one-third of Americans reported being targeted by a holiday scam. The series is based on Gen's threat intelligence and aims to make safety tips accessible for families to share and discuss.
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Details
News Market Reaction – GEN
On Dec 1, the day this news came out, GEN closed 0.34% below the previous close.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus for the Dec 1 session.
Key Figures
- Episode count
- 12 episodes
- Animated Scam-mas series runs December 1–12, 2025
- Episode length
- 1 minute
- New one-minute animated episode released each day
- Daily release time PT
- 2 p.m. PT
- Scam-mas episodes published daily on YouTube
- Daily release time ET
- 5 p.m. ET
- Scam-mas episodes published daily on YouTube
- Fake ads blocked
- 1.26 million
- Fake ads blocked by Gen last holiday season
- Holiday scam targeting
- nearly one-third
- Share of Americans who say they were targeted by a holiday scam
- Attack trend
- more than doubled
- Attacks from fake online shopping sites vs prior holiday season
Historical Context
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2026 cybersecurity predictions highlighting AI, identity risks, and consumer safety tips.
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Holiday giveaway campaign aimed at consumer engagement and short-term financial relief.
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CEO and CFO fireside chat at Barclays Global Technology Conference with webcast access.
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Worldwide free availability of Norton Neo AI-native browser with cyber safety features.
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Launch of Avast "Scam-mas" animated series to promote holiday scam awareness.
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Key Terms
threat intelligence technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
New animated YouTube series "The Twelve Days of Scam-mas" makes learning about holiday scams fun, fast and festive
This new animated series helps people enjoy a safe holiday season by learning how to spot and avoid the threats that peak during this heavy buying period. According to Gen researchers, attacks from fake online shopping sites more than doubled last holiday season and Gen blocked over 1.26 million fake ads. Additionally, nearly one-third of Americans say they were targeted by a scam during the holidays right as people were juggling gift lists, travel plans and inboxes full of holiday noise.
"The holidays are a magical time, but they also bring a surge in scams that can quickly ruin the cheer," said Leyla Bilge, Director of Scam Research Labs for Avast (part of Gen). "With our new 'Scam-mas' series, we're making essential safety tips accessible to all and serving them with a side of holiday cheer. By wrapping real-life lessons in engaging, festive stories, we hope to help families shop, share, and celebrate with confidence."
Inspired by real holiday scams, from fake online shops and spoofed delivery texts to too-good-to-be-true giveaways, every episode highlights a specific seasonal scam tactic. Scam-mas uses simple, memorable storytelling rather than technical jargon, offering families an easy way to learn about online risks and discuss safe digital habits.
The series features Deceivus, a mischievous robot who serves as a playful stand-in for the real-world scammers who exploit emotion, urgency, and trust. Each scam Deceivus attempts is grounded in Gen's proprietary threat intelligence and reflects the top scams its researchers are actively tracking.
Avast invites people everywhere to tune in daily at 2 p.m. PT/5 pm ET as new episodes drop from December 1–12 to learn about the top scams you'd "better watch out" for this holiday season. Sharing the series with friends and family is the perfect way to help keep holiday spirits high and scammers out in the cold.
Subscribe here to watch the Scam-mas playlist and let Avast help guard your holiday cheer.
About Avast: Avast is a leader in digital security and privacy, and part of Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom with a family of trusted consumer brands. Avast protects hundreds of millions of users from online threats, for Mobile, PC or Mac, and is top-ranked and certified by VB100, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, SE Labs and others. Avast is a member of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, No More Ransom and Internet Watch Foundation. Learn more at Avast.com.
Jenna Torluemke
Gen
Press@GenDigital.com
Cassie Boehmer
Edelman for Gen
cassie.boehmer@edelman.com
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SOURCE Gen Digital Inc.
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