Don't be a victim to an online scam
The global pandemic of Covid 19 caused many shops to close and forced people to stay at home more than ever, socialising over Zoom and shopping online. In recent years, there has been an explosion in the growth of internet retailing, with more than half of all UK consumers now shopping online according to retail analysts, Global Data. With the UK's online shopping spend forecast to grow 30% by 2024, a major factor is the increasing power and availability of mobile phones allowing people to shop whenever and wherever they happen to be.
Big business for criminals
It is not only sellers that have taken advantage of the growth of online retailing, but cyber criminals have too. Attacks have become more sophisticated, so shoppers need to be alert and cautious when looking for online bargains.
As a victim of cyber-crime, you might:
*find yourself on a fake website and pay for items that do not exist.
*Have your payment card details stolen and fraudulent purchases made from it or have your bank account cleared out.
*Have your personal details such as payment card, name, address, username and passwords stolen, and credit cards and loans taken out in your name.
*Have your stolen username and passwords tried on all your other accounts to see if any anything else can be stolen. These details can be sold on to other cyber criminals.