The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has reported that shoppers lost over £11.5 million to online criminals between November 2023 and January 2024. Each victim lost an average of £695. A total of £10.6 million was lost the previous year. The Black Friday season can be a good time to find bargains for businesses as well as individual shoppers. However, it’s evident that online criminals are doing their best to take advantage of the increased shopping activity. It’s important then that you and your business exercise vigilance during this time. NCSC advise that criminals will often create false urgency by using limited-time offers or promoting items that seem scarce or not widely available. Anyone involved in purchasing should be made aware that if they see or hear anything that doesn’t seem quite right, they should immediately:
- Break the contact and don’t click on any links. 2. Research the company or seller by looking at reviews on trusted review sites.