November 28th 2016
Today, one of the biggest online shopping days of the year along with last week’s Black Friday, shoppers are again being warned to safeguard themselves against fraud when hunting for bargains.
Figures released last week by the City of London Police – who run Action Fraud – show that last year, victims reported losing over £10 million to fraudsters when shopping online for Christmas presents.The largest loss was one victim who lost £86,000 when he tried to purchase a boat from a fraudster on eBay.More commonplace frauds occur with purchases such as mobile phones, other electronic gadgets, home electricals, shoes and jewellery.
Increasingly, young people are being approached by fraudsters on social media channels who offer seemingly great Christmas shopping deals.Last year more people than ever reported that they had been initially approached on Instagram, with a 67% increase compared to the year before.
Alongside our own general awareness campaign on staying safe with everything you do online at this time of year, City of London Police has launched a national awareness campaign to help prevent people from becoming victims of online shopping fraud as well as other types of fraud which people fall victim to during the seasonal period. The ‘Advent Calendar of Christmas Fraud’ will run until Boxing Day offering advice and tips on how to beat the fraudsters this Christmas.
City of London Police analyses all Action Fraud reports and tries to prevent more people falling victim of fraud by requesting the suspension of the websites, bank accounts and phone lines that fraudsters use to commit their crimes. Last year 418 websites were disrupted by the team, representing a 67% increase on the year before. Phone lines used by fraudsters were also disrupted by the team with 93 being taken down during December.
Use the following guidelines to protect yourself from being conned out of the Christmas you deserve:
– If something seems too much of a bargain, it’s probably poor quality, fake or doesn’t exist.
– Use methods like PayPal when buying on auction sites; never transfer money to someone you don’t know.
– When making a transaction always look out for a padlock in the web tool bar, the padlock indicates that the site is secure.
– The ’s’ on the end of ‘http’ in the payment page address is another essential indicator that a site is secure for making transactions.
– If you’re buying tickets, always buy from official sources and never pay by direct transfer.
– If you’re buying a holiday online, research it thoroughly to ensure that is a genuine offer and check to make sure it is registered with ABTA and ATOL.
– Secure Wi-Fi is vital for your privacy. Check that the network you’re using is secure before you make any financial transaction and never assume a public Wi-Fi hotspot is secure.
– Always ensure that your keep your internew security software, operating systems and other security measures up to date on your electronic devices.
