Online shoppers advised to be wary of scams in run up to Christmas

Online shoppers are being advised to be extra vigilant and aware of fraudulent scams in the run up to Christmas.

The Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) has revealed figures from across the banking sector which show that overall card fraud amounted to €22 million in 2019.

The BPFI said that 260,000 fraudulent debit and credit card transactions took place last year and that over 90% of card fraud took place online, via telephone or mail order, rather than in-store last year.

The BPFI has issued guidelines to help consumers avoid card fraud this Christmas:

– Only use secure websites. Addresses should have ‘https’ before the purchase is made, indicating a secure connection

– Make sure a padlock symbol is shown beside the website address

– Never use public Wi-Fi when making payments; switch to 3G/4G instead

– Avoid clicking on social media or pop-up adverts, instead independently visit the website of the online sales company

– Be cautious about claiming outrageous offers in particular on social media. If it sounds too good to be true it usually is

– Stick to well-known websites or websites that you are familiar with or websites associated with high street retail outlets.