Internet Shopping Fraud In The U.K.

Internet shopping fraud has become the second largest crime in the UK, and this trend doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. The web has made it easy for virtually anyone to go online and shop for goods and services. Unfortunately, it has also put you at a greater risk of being victimized by thieves looking to steal your identity and banking information.

Credit card thieves spend just as much time online as legitimate shoppers, and they have expensive taste. Some of the top stolen items include the Macbook Pro, the Sony Playstation, the iPod Touch, and the Samsung LCD TV. Thieves are buying up these items at record speed, and businesses are losing millions of pounds each year. Although this is occurring throughout the UK, South East London has seen the highest rate of internet shopping fraud, with an estimated 18 million pounds in fraudulent transactions each year.

Protecting your credit card information isn’t hard, but requires some dedication on your part. First, always check to make sure that you are shopping with a legitimate retailer. Look for the padlock symbol in the address bar to indicate that you’re on a secure site. Always logout of your accounts, especially if you’re using a public computer, or any device that you don’t own. The internet is, for the most part, a safe place to shop. Taking the extra steps to reduce your chances of becoming a victim of identity theft is a necessary precaution, and one that you should practice daily.