The
festive period is a time for giving gifts, eating mince pies and spending
quality time with your loved ones. However, unfortunately, police warn it’s
also “prime time” for fraudsters as Christmas shoppers were fleeced of more
than £10 million in online scams last
year.
As
huge numbers of bargain-hunters prepare to log on on Black Friday, officers
highlighted the growing trend for criminals to use social media to target
potential victims with apparently attractive deals.
One
victim lost £86,000 when they tried to purchase a boat from a fraudster on
eBay, police said.
Some
12,142 people said they had been bitten by online shopping fraud during the
last Christmas period – with 133 saying they had been defrauded on Black Friday
and another 115 falling victim on Cyber Monday.
City
of London Police, who run the national reporting centre Action Fraud, are
launching an awareness campaign aimed at helping shoppers avoid being conned.
Commander
Chris Greany, the National Co-ordinator for Economic Crime, said: “Christmas is
prime time for fraudsters to take advantage of the British public.
“During
the festive season people rush to buy the presents they have been asking for;
however, fraudsters see this period of generosity as an opportunity to strike
and steal money from unsuspecting victims.
“Our
campaign is designed to give individuals up-to-date advice that will keep them
one step ahead of the criminals that target UK shoppers from all over the
globe. Everyone deserves a crime-free Christmas so make sure it’s the criminals
that are left short-changed this festive period.”
Young
people are increasingly being approached on social media channels by fraudsters
who offer seemingly great Christmas shopping deals, according to the police
force.
It
said that last year more people than ever reported that they had been initially
approached on Instagram, with a 67% increase compared with the year before.
Analysis
of Action Fraud reports from last Christmas showed that items such as home electricals,
mobile phones and jewellery were the most common items which fraudsters offered
to victims.
Separate
research published earlier this week found that nearly a third of online
shoppers may be tempted to put themselves at risk of fraud during the frenzy to
grab a Christmas bargain.
Criminals
use scam emails, fake ads on social media or internet searches promising heavy
discounts for desirable goods to trick people into visiting fake websites and
entering their card details. Once fraudsters harvest this information, they use
victims’ details to go on shopping sprees.
So
make sure you’re careful when online shopping, to make sure that your Christmas
isn’t anything less than happy.
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