Brits at risk from bagging more than just a bargain in the sales
Shopping online in the January sales is the perfect opportunity to get a good deal or two. The comfort of shopping from home beats the rough and tumble of the high street, but hardened online bargain hunters have a new reason to remain vigilant this season. New research from PC Tools reveals that over a third of Britons believe they would provide their personal details when faced with an online shopping scam.
The study of 1,357 UK internet users identified Britons’ online scam susceptibility by surveying the likely response to real-life online scenarios used by cybercriminals. Whilst the majority of Briton’s don’t believe their bank is effective at protecting the money online, over a third of Brits still admit they would provide their username and passwords to an unknown website offering discounted items.
The Metropolitan Police’s Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) announced in November they had shut down more than 2,000 fraudulent e-commerce websites in the UK, that had sent festive shoppers counterfeit goods or nothing at all. These scams all add to the recent statistic that online scams cost the UK economy £1.4bn each year.
Richard Clooke, Internet Security expert for PC Tools, comments: “Cybercriminals are exploiting human characteristics such as greed, naivety and even generosity to trick online shoppers in the UK into revealing personal and financial details. This leaves consumers losing out on millions of pounds each year. With more people online, making the most of the sales during this busy festive period, cybercriminals have a bigger pool to target. To avoid starting the New Year out of pocket, Internet users need to stay alert and ensure they’re protected against online scams.”
To ensure you don’t fall victim during this festive period, here are PC Tools’ top tips:
Look for the padlock. If you’re shopping online, check that the site you’re on is secure – check that the web address begins with https and that you can see a padlock in the address bar of your browser. If you can tick these two boxes, it’s a good sign that the site you are on is secure – but be warned, cybercriminals go to great lengths to make their scam sites look just like the genuine ones.
Avoid using the same password for multiple accounts. Whether it’s your credit card, online bank or simply when accessing any site that requires registration – there’s always a tendency to use the same password for all of your logins. Don’t! Otherwise, if you inadvertently sign up to a scam site, the cybercriminals have your master password and may be able to access your financial information. Use a password manager if it becomes difficult to remember all your different passwords.
Be click aware. Think twice when clicking on links from an online retailer or offers that look to good to be true. What may look legitimate could in fact be directing you to a scam website. Check with the store/bank/brand if you’re worried or unsure whether you should provide personal or financial information.
Don’t give out too many personal details unless you need to. Always be cautious if a site or organisations requests personal information – you may end up with someone or something spying on your machine to get your credit card details or your login credentials when you’re shopping or registering to a site online.
Stay in safe places. Keep your eyes peeled for misspelled and unusual domain names. If your are unsure about the brand, the organisation or the website itself do some background research to confirm you are using a legitimate site.
For more advice and to ensure a safer online shopping experience, visit pctools.com.