This Christmas season, shoppers need to be more cautious when buying items online, especially with technology such as game consoles, tablets and other electrical items, Action Fraud, City of London Police and Get Safe Online have warned.
During last year’s Christmas season, cybercriminals managed to “earn” over £12 million through auctions and online shopping frauds. In 2012, Action Fraud received over 10,000 reports with victims claiming average losses of £1,700.
The newly established National Cyber Crime Unit, which is part of the National Crime Agency, will deal with fraudsters, but online shoppers should be also more careful and make sure they don’t spend the money they’ve earned on fraudulent items, said security minister James Brokenshire.
This year, even more shoppers are expected to buy items online throughout the Christmas shopping season. On one hand, this will bring numerous opportunities for both retailers and bargain seekers, but on the other hand, this will also create opportunities for cybercriminals.
Experts from Action Fraud believe that cybercriminals are able to fool even the most experienced online shoppers, though they usually hunt out more vulnerable and inexperienced users who are not confident when using modern tech.
Action Fraud, Get Safe Online and City of London Police advise online shoppers to watch out for signs indicating that a certain website is not genuine, and to be very cautious when using websites that they are not very familiar with, or new websites offering bargains that seem too good to be true.