Our tips for safer online shopping

Fraudsters can spoof websites, so double-check the web address is as you’d expect. Misspellings or dots and dashes in strange places should be a red flag. Use a search engine to make sure you’re on a company’s official website, not a spoof. If you’re not sure of the company, perform an independent search to see if you can find reviews from genuine customers – both good and bad.

If you’re entering payment details on a web browser, it can help to check that the URL of the page (in the address bar) starts ‘https://’ or your browser shows you the padlock icon. The ‘s’ means that the connection to the company’s server is encrypted. If it’s not, don’t share any personal information with that website.

Paying for online shopping by bank transfer – when they ask you to send money to them using their account number and sort code – can be risky, as doing so isn’t as safe as paying by card or dedicated online payment services.

If you’ve ordered a few things for delivery, it can be easy to lose track. Double-check the details of any follow-up messages received from delivery companies or online sellers before clicking links or providing personal information. 

Fraudsters can impersonate legitimate organisations by sending plausible but fake messages about an order you have supposedly made, and pressure you into providing valuable information. Read more about how to avoid the pressure tactics of scammers here. 

If you receive an unexpected call about an order and you’re not sure it’s legitimate, tell them you’ll call them back. Then find the official contact number from somewhere you’re confident is authentic before you return their call. If it’s a genuine call, they won’t mind you doing this.