It is estimated that UK Christmas shoppers will spend over £13 billion online during this festive season – a 42% increase on last year -¹, yet recent research from GetSafeOnline.org indicates that more than one in five web users still avoid e-shopping due to fears about their safety online ².

The research also showed that although many internet users can be confident about the security of their PC or laptop (88% now have some form of internet security software, such as a firewall, up-to-date anti-spyware or anti-virus protection ³), they are less savvy about the broader safety issues associated with online shopping. These include:

• misuse of credit or debit card details (i.e. fraud)
• scam websites that don’t deliver ordered items

Tony Neate, managing director of GetSafeOnline.org, says: “People do need to be vigilant when shopping online, but fear of the risks shouldn’t stop you. Being aware of the warning signs, and taking a few simple precautions, is all that’s needed to shop with confidence. Keep your wits about you, and if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.”

Get Safe Online’s top tips for shopping online this Christmas include:

• Buying from reputable companies is your best bet. Don’t judge a person or company solely by their website – look for evidence of a physical address, contact telephone numbers.
• Make sure you use a secure web site to enter credit card information. Look for a padlock symbol in the bottom right of the browser window and for the website address to begin with ‘https://’
• BUT, don’t be fooled by a padlock that appears on the web page itself. It’s easy for criminals to copy the image of a padlock. You need to look for one that is in the window frame of the browser itself.
• If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is. Cross-check information on the internet and see if anyone else has had problems.
• Be extremely wary of anything that is offered in an unsolicited or spam email.

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Notes to Editors

For further information please contact:

• Get Safe Online Press Office
• Telephone: 0207 344 1326
• Email: press@getsafeonline.org
• Web: www.getsafeonline.org/go/media
• Blog: www.getsafeonlineblog.org

1. Sources: ‘Europe’s 2007 Christmas: An Online Retail Wonderland’, Forrester Research, October 2007; IMRG Senate Christmas Statement, November 2007.
2. Research conducted by ICM on behalf of GetSafeOnline.org, interviewing a sample of 2,013 adults over the age of 18 in the UK, November 2007.
3. As above

Further information for shopping online safely this Christmas is available at www.getsafeonline.org.

The Get Safe Online campaign (www,getsafeonline.org), which is now in its third year, is the UK’s national internet security awareness campaign. A joint initiative between the Government, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and private sector sponsors from the worlds of technology, retail and finance, the campaign continues to educate, inform and raise awareness of internet security issues.

GetSafeOnline.org is sponsored by the Cabinet Office, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), Home Office, Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), eBay, Microsoft, HSBC, Symantec and Cable & Wireless.