Online Shoppers Have Lost Over £16m To Lockdown Fraud
Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime, is warning the public to remain vigilant and take extra care online. Their research has find that says 16,352 people were victims to online shopping fraud since the beginning of lockdown, with young people the most at risk. These resultes reaveal a real threat to ecommerce trust as 76% of those surveyed now see shopping online as potentially risky. Companies will now need to do more to ensure their online commerce offerings are secure and educate their customers to help protect them against being defrauded.
Despite retail and non-essential shops re-opening across the UK, many of us continue to shop online., Since shops were forced to close due to the coronavirus outbreak on 23 March, Action Fraud has received reports of online shopping fraud totalling £16.6million in losses.
Members of the public have reported buying mobile phones (19%), vehicles (22%), electronics (10%) such as games consoles, AirPods and MacBooks, and footwear (4%) on sites such as eBay (18%), Facebook (18%), Gumtree (10%) and Depop (6%), only to have the items never delivered. Nearly a quarter of victims (24%) were aged 18 to 26 residing in cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bristol and Nottingham.
Pauline Smith, Head of Action Fraud, said “The global outbreak of coronavirus has seen all our lives turn upside down. With the lockdown being introduced, so many more people are now online shopping, including those who have never done so before. It is therefore unsurprising that there has therefore been an increase in fraud being committed.... We are still seeing young people in their 20’s falling victim the most. This has been the case for the last 18 months which implies this is not just a trend brought about because of coronavirus. We would make a plea to this group to take extra care when shopping online."
To protect yourself from falling victim to online shopping or auction fraud, remember the following:
Where To Shop: If you’re making a purchase from a company or seller you don’t know and trust, carry out some research first and ask a friend or family member for advice before completing the purchase.
Email accounts: Use a strong, separate password for your email account. Criminals can use your email to access other online accounts, such as those you use for online shopping.
Phishing: Some of the emails or texts you receive about amazing offers may contain links to fake websites. Not all links are bad, but, if you’re unsure, don't use the link and type the website directly into your browser instead.
Payment method: If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, use a credit card if you have one as most other payment providers may not provide the same protection.
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