POLICE and spy chiefs have issued an unprecedented warning to Sun readers over online Black Friday and Christmas shopping cons.
More than £15million was nicked last year with the average loss at £1,000.
Most scams involved mobile phones, electronics, cars and designer clothes — and people aged 19 to 25 were most likely to be victims.
One buyer lost £7,000 when they tried to buy a camper van.
But officials fear scams could soar this year as the cost of living crisis forces more shoppers to hunt for rock-bottom prices.
They said criminals pose as genuine sellers on popular online marketplaces with deals that prove “too good to be true”.
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The warning comes jointly from the National Crime Agency, the National Cyber Security Centre and City of London Police.
The crime-fighting trio urged online shoppers to protect their accounts using two-step verification and strong passwords.
People should also check reviews from trusted sources before buying, and use a credit card to pay or platform such as PayPal, Google or Apple Pay.
The officials said: “And, if you see what you think is a scam email, text or website then report them.
“Last year, the public made 6.5million reports to the suspicious email reporting service, and as a result we removed 62,000 scam websites.”
By Lindy Cameron, CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre, Graeme Biggar, Director General of the National Crime Agency and Angela McLaren, Commissioner of the City of London Police
With the costs of living biting, we want to protect everyone from being scammed this Christmas.
Sadly, thousands of people were, last year – losing on average one thousand pounds each to fraud as they shopped online over the festive period.
They were duped by criminals posing as genuine sellers on popular online marketplaces. These fraudsters were offering deals on tech, cars and designer gear which proved too good to be true.
As we approach Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when many Sun readers will be tightening their belts, we know fraudsters will have bargain-hunting shoppers in their sights.
This is why, today, the organisations we lead: National Cyber Security Centre, National Crime Agency and the City of London Police (through Action Fraud) are launching a campaign to help keep online shoppers more secure in the run up to Christmas.
While we are doing all we can to prevent attacks getting through – 2.1 million cyber attacks were stopped in their tracks last year – and taking action to pursue and disrupt offenders and bring them to justice, still too many people get scammed.
But the good news is that huge numbers of these can be prevented by being cyber aware and taking some practical steps when you shop online: protect your accounts, check before you buy and pay securely.
And, if you see what you think is a scam email, text or website then report them.
Last year the British public made 6.5 million reports to the suspicious email reporting service (SERS), and as a result we removed 62,000 scam websites, helping others from being conned.
At this difficult time, let’s work together to stop the cyber grinches from stealing Christmas this year.
