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With an influx of online shoppers comes an increase of scammers, fraudsters, and hackers waiting to prey on those who are unaware and unprepared. People are spending more online, resulting in a greater number of transactions and cross-border payments that are easily preyed on by cybercriminals.
A report from Action Fraud and NCSC found that shoppers in the United Kingdom between November 2021 and January 2022 lost £15.3m to scams, with most of the victims being between 19–25-year-olds. The issue is so substantial that the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau and the National Cyber Security Centre have launched a nationwide campaign, Cyber Aware, to aid shoppers in staying safe online.
These numbers are the tip of the iceberg as criminals continually find ways to take advantage of shoppers, particularly during the festive season. Technology plays a huge role in staying safe, so three experts from leading IT companies and members of Software Development Association Poland (SoDA) share their advice on how online shoppers can stay safe this Christmas season.

1. Buy from trusted stores
Online shopping scams occur when scammers pretend to be legitimate online sellers.
These can sometimes be replicas of an original site you are trying to shop on, complete with identical images, similar URLs, and duplicated promotions. These sites are incredibly prominent on social media. According to Action Fraud, almost half of all fraud reports mentioned one social media platform, indicating that this is the most common outlet for fraud activity.
Bartosz Borkowski, Co-founder & CSO at createIT says, “It is common for scammers to put small typos in the URL of a store to take advantage of customers who aren’t hyper-vigilant. Shoppers should always look for strange or unfamiliar domain addresses. For instance, make sure you are buying from adidas.com, not from addidas.com or adibas.com.
“Fraudulent websites are often created to replicate the original store you are intending to shop on, including having their terms and conditions and privacy policy in the footer, which often are used in assessing if sites are legitimate.
“Many people find it difficult to navigate the overwhelming number of websites and social media profiles available to them, so it is easy for scammers to take advantage of unsuspecting shoppers. Take precautions by checking the URL, if your connection is secure, and using your own judgement by filtering through the website and its contents can all go a long way in helping you protect your money and security.”
Michal Zabielski, Owner of Endora, added, “Shoppers can easily find if a website is credible by looking up reviews online from reliable moderators such as Opineo or Trustpilot, or checking social media.”
Shopping online is not the only way you can get pulled into a scam though - your email can be used to pull in unsuspecting victims as well. Dominik Samociuk, PhD and Head of Security at Future Processing says, “Scammers use phishing as a textbook strategy to ensnare victims. Make sure you never click on links from unknown email addresses that direct you to websites you are not familiar with.”
He added, “If it is attempting to redirect you to a website you think you know, but from an unknown email, it is safer to manually look the website up in your browser. Even better, use the remembered address from your search engine.”

2. Some prices are too good to be true
Lures can come in many forms but for most online shoppers, it’s bargains that get them hooked. Malicious websites trick shoppers by advertising sales prices then charging unsuspecting shoppers extortionate delivery fees.
Bartosz says, “I have seen situations where fake online retailers trick shoppers with promotional banners advertising significant discounts, which end up not being applied at checkout due to ‘complicated’ sales conditions. Before checking out, ensure you are paying the same price that you saw when browsing the site. If it seems incorrect, it’s worth considering whether the site is legitimate.
When looking to stay cyber safe, it is important to remember if the price is too good to be true, it probably is.

3. Keep payment details secure
Keeping your payment details safe and secure is essential with any eCommerce transaction, even on legitimate shopping sites you know and use often.
Tomasz Prasal, Head of Group IT Security at GFT says, “Stores that have intermediary payment options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or PayPal enable shoppers to keep the sensitive details of their card secure.”
He added, “Also, make sure you have 3-D enabled for your card as well – it should be automatically applied by your bank, but it is always a good idea to confirm.”
It is also a good sign if the website you are shopping on offers one of these payment options because when the intermediary partner of the company, the payment provider will have verified the company you are shopping with, but also helps if fraudulent charges occur on your account.”

4. Educate others and report suspicious activity
Ultimately, staying cyber-safe is possible if shoppers remain vigilant and report suspicious activity. While there are organisations out there that monitor for and remove illegitimate websites, consumers must do what they can to avoid falling into the increasingly sophisticated traps laid by scammers.
Using your own judgement can often be enough once you know what to look for, and if you do see something suspicious, contact the respective government departments to report suspected websites or activity. In the United Kingdom, NCSC handles all fraudulent emails, texts, websites and calls.