NCSC advises online shoppers to be careful over Black Friday

The festive period is a potentially rewarding period for cyber criminals

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on Monday issued new guidance for online shoppers, advising them to be extra-cautious when searching for Black Friday deals on the internet - which are often time-limited and designed to quickly part consumers with their cash.

The Centre pointed out that the festive period is a potentially rewarding period for cyber criminals, as shoppers are likely to "slightly lower their guards during the rush to bag the best deals".

The guidance, which is aimed at helping shoppers before, during, and after the online sales process, includes various tips covering secure payments, as well as steps that consumers should take in case things go wrong.

The NCSC says that consumers looking for Black Friday deals must:

• be selective about website/ stores where they shop;
• refrain from providing extra information;
• use a secured payment method;
• keep their bank accounts secure; and
• identify any suspicious phone calls, emails and text messages and report them to law-enforcement agencies

The guidance complements Action Fraud's FraudFreeXmas campaign,w hich was recently launched to raise awareness abou the increasing number of scams on the internet.

The NCSC says it has removed about 113,000 malicious URLs from bogus online shops over the past 12 months. These fake sites collect victims' payment card details, with shoppers receiving either inferior products or no goods at all.

Earlier this year, the NCSC collaborated with the City of London Police to launch the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS). SERS received about 2.3 million fraud reports from the public in its first four months, enabling law-enforcement agencies to take down thousands of malicious websites.

The new security advisory has come days after UK Finance, the association representing trade and finance institutions in the UK, warned consumers of a spike in online scams targeting people searching for attractive deals on Christmas gifts.

The Association said that fraudsters have seen opportunities in new lockdown restrictions, and are targeting online marketplaces and auction websites to cheat consumers seeking deals on items such as clothing, bicycles, and games consoles.

The scams also involve home improvement purchases such as sheds and patio heaters, as people have chosen to invest in their homes during the pandemic.

The public lost more than £27 million to such scams in the first six months of 2020, according to UK Finance, with an average loss of about £720 per case.

Banking fraud is booming

Last year, a study by a group of Cambridge University cybersecurity researchers revealed that the value of online banking fraud in the UK had more than doubled since 2011, from £51.1 million to £121.4 million in 2017.

The study also observed an increase in the value of phone banking fraud, which was up from £22.2 million in 2011 to £28.4 million in 2017.

Earlier this year, cyber security firm Digital Shadows stated that about 30 per cent of the retail risks identified in its recent reporting period involved phishing attempts and domain impersonation.

The company said that cyber criminals regularly build fake social media accounts and other phishing pages to trick shoppers into handing over their login credentials, payment card details and other personally identifiable information.

It added that "out of over 100 advertisements for pre-built phishing pages and templates on cyber-criminal forums and marketplaces, 29% specifically targeted retail and e-commerce organizations".