Know when to stop and check – stay safe from scams.

Scammers are targeting online shoppers during the festive season, especially with Christmas shopping and Boxing Day sales. Criminals create fake websites to look like well-known brands. They pretend to sell products at unusually low prices and may write fake reviews to make the website look legitimate.

Criminals are calling people and pretending to be from a trusted organisation like a bank, IT company or phone company. They will say your bank accounts or computers aren’t secure and your money isn’t safe. They will ask for your PIN and tell you to leave your bank card in your letterbox so it can be cancelled and replaced. 

Criminals are emailing people and falsely claiming they have hacked into their computers or webcams and have access to compromising images and videos of them.

They include personal details such as birth dates and addresses in the emails to intimidate people into sending them money.