Avoid fraudsters and #ShopSavvy this festive season

Christmas last year, was a lot quieter for us all as we stayed at home at the height of the covid pandemic. It may have been a quiet one for us, but online shopping fraud increased by 42% as fraudsters looked to take advantage of our need to access Christmas gifts and other essentials online.

This year has seen the return of Highstreet shopping, but it does not mean these calculated fraudsters aren’t continuing to use new and sophisticated methods to target members of the public throughout the advent season, and that’s not just online.

It is really important you do everything you can to protect yourself from fraud this festive season, otherwise you may be saying “NO NO NO” rather than “HO HO HO”.

Humberside Police would like to offer you some simple things to look out for:

• Don’t pay for anything by transferring money directly to companies or people you don’t know – you make think that all of your Christmas wishes have come at once, it’s an amazing deal or you just can’t find it anywhere else.
• If it is in fact a scam, it’s unlikely the bank will be able to recover or refund your money. Were possible, the safest way to pay for anything is by credit card.
• Make sure the site you’re visiting is authentic – The easiest way to do this is to ensure that the address is spelled correctly. Fraudsters can set up convincing websites with very similar spelling to the authentic one.
• Ensure the payment pages are secure by checking the address starts with https. The s stands for secure. There should also be a closed padlock in the address bar.
• Log out of your account when you’ve finished paying. Just closing the window doesn’t do this.
• Found that must have gift for a fraction of the price? The likelihood is that it’s a fake. It may even be dangerous and the quality certainly won’t be as good as the real thing.
• Beware the free or low cost trial – you could be signing up for large monthly direct debits that are difficult to cancel.
• If you’re booking a festive getaway do some research before you book. Look for independent reviews and make sure the agent is genuine by looking for the ABTA or ATOL number.
• Always buy tickets for gigs, concerts and events from official sources otherwise you could end up shelling out a fortune for fake or non-existent tickets.
• Beware of unexpected emails, texts or posts urging you to click a link or attachment – if you’re not sure, just delete it

If you’ve been a victim of crime and need further support and information to assist you through the process you can visit our victim support page and download a copy of their leaflet.