Editorial Articles

Michael Norton, Managing Director of PayPoint.net, offers advice to help consumers be more vigilant when shopping online this festive season

Online shopping has never been more popular. Research from Visa Europe found that 74 per cent of consumers plan to do more shopping online this Christmas, with 30 per cent hoping to do more shopping on the internet compared to last year. This isn’t surprising given the recent spell of bad weather and ever increasing number of online retail outlets available, luring consumers away from the high street towards the world of e-commerce during this festive season.

While the internet offers a number of benefits for today’s shoppers, the increase in activity presents a golden opportunity for fraudsters to target consumers and divert them from legitimate online retailers. Our survey of online merchants found that 74 per cent of respondents expect online fraud to increase in the run up to Christmas.

Worryingly, consumers are not as concerned about online fraud as they should be. Our research found that online business owners do not view fraud protection as a decisive factor when it comes to winning over customers. Instead, they believe their customers are more interested in the website’s ease of use and its product offering.

In fact, the top contributing factors to an e-tailer’s success were an easy payment process, selected by 64 per cent of respondents, closely followed by the website’s usability (54 per cent) and its customer service offering (52 per cent). The vast majority of those surveyed did not believe consumers considered the site’s fraud prevention capabilities instrumental in the success of their business and was cited by just 22 per cent of respondents.

What this reveals is not that online retailers are lax when it comes to fraud protection, but that their fraud prevention capabilities are not valued by consumers. It also means consumers could be lulled into a false sense of security and fall victim to online scams, just because a website is well presented or easy to navigate.

While many online retailers are doing all they can to prevent fraudulent activity, the responsibility also lies with consumers. If people have doubts as to whether a site is genuine, there are things they can look out for, so that they can be confident in where they’re spending their money.

For safe shopping online this Christmas, and in the New Year sales, consumers should:

• Check for a returns policy and make sure there is a UK contact number and mailing address clearly visible
• Compare the costs of the goods on sale with other sellers – although there are bargains to be found online, if the price is too good to be true, it probably is
• Make sure the sites you use have ‘SSL’ encryption – a padlock should be clearly visible in the lower left hand corner of your browser
• Look out for the ISIS (internet shopping is safe) logo on the retailer’s website – this means the site complies with IMRG security regulations

To shop safely online and prevent fraudulent activity, such as fake sites and identity theft, from ruining the festive season, consumers must realise all that glitters is not necessarily gold when it comes to e-commerce. Just because a site has a sleek appearance and alluring offers, it doesn’t mean it’s well protected. 

Michael Norton
Managing Director, PayPoint.net