iPhones, PlayStation 4s and Ugg boots top list of items online scammers are 'selling' this Christmas.
New research has highlighted the five items most likely to be targeted by online fraudsters this Christmas.
Smartphones are top, particularly iPhone and Samsung Galaxy models, followed by the latest games consoles, especially Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One.
Footwear, particularly Ugg boots and clothing such as trendy Barbour jackets, were the third and fourth riskiest items. Pricey iPads, especially iPad Minis, were found to be the fifth most likely item to be targeted.
The list has been put together by Get Safe Online in conjunction with Barclays and internet security firm Kaspersky.
With Black Friday weekend and “Cyber Monday” set to break records for online Christmas shopping, these cybercrime experts are warning us to be vigilant and watch out for “too good to be true” bargains.
Tony Neate, chief executive of Get Safe Online, said: “We felt it was important to highlight the most risky items – not to deter consumers from enjoying the benefits of shopping online, but to educate them on what they can do to prevent being caught out by online scammers.”
Online shopping scams
Online shopping scams can take many forms.
In some cases, shoppers might be sent an email with links to a dodgy site supposedly selling desirable items that encourage them to share personal information. In others, shoppers might be fooled into buying fake items.
[SPOTLIGHT]In 2013 online reports of online shopping fraud rose by 31% over the Christmas period. It’s estimated this cost UK shoppers £9.5 million, with people an average of £113 out of pocket.
But as new research suggests less than a third of us actually report an online crime to police, it’s thought the true figure could be as high as £28 million.
How to keep safe when shopping online
Here are seven tips provided by Get Safe Online on how to protect yourself when you're shopping online over the festive season.
1. Check your debit and credit card providers have up-to-date contact numbers for you so they can get in touch if they spot any unusual activity on your account.
2. Make sure your computer and web-enabled devices are protected with up-to-date internet security software to shield against attacks and your cards are registered with Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode.
3. When shopping online, make sure payment pages are secure by ensuring the URL starts ‘https’ rather than just ‘http’ or has the gold padlock icon in the browser bar.
4. Treat unsolicited emails with caution. Don’t click on links or open attachments in emails you weren’t expecting or sound too good to be true.
5. Use strong passwords that have a mix of letters (both upper and lower case), numbers and symbols. Avoid obvious things like your name, birthday, pets name or phone number that others can easily guess.
6. Be cautious with online auction. For high value items like cars you should make sure you see it first before sending the money and use an insured method of payment like PayPal for extra protection.
7. Log out after shopping or checking your internet banking and save your confirmation emails as a record of your purchase.
Read: How to avoid scams and rip-offs for more advice on how you can protect yourself from falling victim to online scams.
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