Ahead of Black Friday, the day of retail sales, the UK’s cybersecurity and law enforcement chiefs have issued an alert to bargain hunters after new figures revealed rising losses to online scammers during the festive shopping season.

Clothing, high-end tech products, and even cars were among the products featuring in scams as the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and Action Fraud revealed that Brits reported losing over £11.5 million to online criminals between November 2023 and January 2024. Each victim lost £695 on average.

This is an increase of nearly one million from last year, which saw losses amounting to £10.6m.

The figures coincide with the launch of the NCSC’s new nationwide campaign, Stop! Think Fraud, which aims to encourage people to set up two-step verification on their most important accounts.

The latest figures, which are sourced from reports made by Action Fraud and analysed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) revealed that 7,168 reports (43%) mentioned a social media platform, while online marketplaces were mentioned in 18.9% of reports.

Further, those aged 30-39 submitted the largest number of reports (23%), closely followed by 40-49-year-olds (20%). The average age of a victim was 42.

“We know that more needs to be done to tackle online fraud,” fraud minister Lord Hanson said.

“That’s why we are delighted to support initiatives like this, through the Stop! Think Fraud campaign, which provide practical, actionable advice to the public to stay safe from scams.

“And our message to anyone shopping online as we approach Black Friday is simple: if you come across anything that doesn’t feel right – stop what you’re doing, break contact, and do not click any links.

“This government is committed to defeating this scourge and we will continue our work with industry and other partners to better protect the public from this appalling crime.”

The NCSC’s guidance encourages shoppers to exercise vigilance against tactics that push them to act quickly without thinking. Criminals often create false urgency by using limited-time offers or promoting items that seem scarce or not widely available.

Researching the company or seller and looking at reviews or trusted review sites can be the first step in determining if a sale will be safe or fraudulent.

If something seems suspicious, the NCSC encourages shoppers to break contact immediately to not click on any links, as these may be malicious.

“Everyone will be looking to snap up good Black Friday deals and bargains whilst shopping this festive period, but unfortunately this doesn’t stop fraudsters from targeting members of the public online,” Adam Mercer, deputy head of Action Fraud, said.

“With Action Fraud data revealing more than 16,000 reports of online shopping fraud over last year’s festive period, we are urging people to shop safely online – especially if you’re buying on social media – and avoid being left empty handed for the holiday season.

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“Never feel pressured into buying anything online – creating a false sense of urgency is a tell-tale sign of a fraudster. Whether you are shopping on online marketplaces, social media or retailers, avoid bank transfers if you can, and use a credit card as it can provide more protection if anything goes wrong.

“You can protect yourself from fraudsters this festive season by following the practical advice on the Stop! Think Fraud website to help you shop online safely.”

Shoppers are also encourage to secure their accounts by adopting multifactor authentication which provides an extra layer of protection to accounts.

“As we head into the holiday shopping season, people are understandably eager to find the best deals online,” NCSC CEO Richard Horne said.

“Unfortunately, this is also prime time for cyber criminals, who exploit bargain hunters with increasingly sophisticated scams – sometimes crafted using AI – making them harder to detect.

“To stay protected, I strongly recommend following our online shopping guidance, including setting up 2-step verification and creating memorable but secure passwords using three random words.”