Credit card fraud is on the riseespecially with the holiday shopping season in full swing.

Fraudsters use a variety of tactics to pull off such scams, including using credit card skimming machines to spread false messages about fraudulent or unauthorized charges.

During the holiday season in particular, "fraudsters try to take advantage of people looking for great deals by creating fake websites that look like favorite brands are being sold at unbelievable prices," Michael Jabbara, head of Visa's global fraud services, told FOX Business.

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In the past four months, Visa identified a 284% increase in fraudulent and fake merchant websites compared to the previous four months, according to Jabbara.

"These websites sometimes look the same as the merchants they are scamming, making it very important for users to independently verify they are on the website they think they are," added Jabbara.

In the past four months, Visa identified a 284% increase in fraudulent and fake merchant websites compared to the previous four months. (/iStock)

There has also been a sharp rise in fraudulent traders masquerading as legitimate charities. Although some fraudsters create fake versions legitimate charityothers create fake charities with plausible names.

Consumers should also be wary of any text messages claiming fraudulent charges on their credit cards.

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If a user receives a text that there is a fraudulent charge, the scammer will usually ask for their passcode or other information via text.

"Your credit card company is not going to do this over email or text," Ted Jenkin, co-founder of oXYGen Financial, told FOX Business. "The easiest thing to do is pick up the phone, call the 800 number on the back of your card and verify what you received on your phone."

The American Bankers Association has also warned consumers about "card cracking," which is when consumers respond to online requests for a quick and easy way to get money.

Criminals will take advantage of social media platforms like Instagram to solicit users and convince them to share their debit card or bank account information in order to issue fake check deposits.

Instead, criminals will deposit worthless checks using mobile deposit and immediately withdraw funds at the ATM, according to the ABA.

Another thing that users need to be aware of is the ATM skimmer device, which is either inserted into the card reader or installed inside the terminal.

Skimmers can also be mounted on terminal card readers or placed along exposed cables in free-standing ATMs. Fraudsters will use pinhole cameras installed on or around ATMs to record customer PIN entries, or they may use keylogging keyboard overlays, which record customer keystrokes.

Skimming, along with phishing and identity theft, are the three most common credit card frauds that securities attorney Andrew Stoltmann has dealt with over the years.

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"One of the most common scams is people receiving texts that appear to be from UPS or FedEx. They then click on it and people either have access to the phone or they're asked to verify via credit card about the actual use of the credit card. The purchase," he said. , adding that this is "especially reassuring during the holiday season when so many people send packages."