UB urges online shoppers to be 'Scam Savvy' this Black Friday
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2020 sales moving mostly online due to the Level 5 restrictions, a fifth (20%) of respondents who shop online say that they will spend more online this Black Friday than they did last year while another quarter (26%) believe that they will spend less online this year.
Ulster Bank has released the findings of its Annual Fraud Survey, urging online shoppers to be on the lookout for more than just bargains this Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with criminals increasingly targeting unsuspecting shoppers on one of the busiest e-commerce days of the year.
The survey of 927 online shoppers by Ulster Bank has shown an increased awareness when it comes to safely buying goods online.
Three-quarters (75%) of those surveyed said that they felt that they had taken all the necessary precautions to shop safely online. A fifth (19%) meanwhile said that they would click on a link if it promised them a great deal, down from 23% last year.
Similarly, around two-thirds (64%) of respondents said they would often or occasionally click through to a webpage without really thinking about if they are secure (down from 82% in 2019).
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2020 sales moving mostly online due to the Level 5 restrictions, a fifth (20%) of respondents who shop online say that they will spend more online this Black Friday than they did last year while another quarter (26%) believe that they will spend less online this year.
Half of respondents (50%) who shop online say that they will do more Christmas shopping online than in store this year.
Commenting, Ulster Bank’s Community Protection Advisor Denise Cusack, said: “Black Friday gets bigger every year, which unfortunately gives criminals even more opportunities to target people online when they’re browsing for deals. Fraudsters are getting more sophisticated and will stop at nothing to part people from their money and their personal information. We want to champion people to be fully aware of the different types of financial scams and what they need to do to help them stay safe and secure.
“That’s why awareness programmes, such as our Friends Against Scams initiative, are so important. While it’s encouraging that over two-thirds of people (67%) wouldn’t be embarrassed to tell their friends and family that they’ve been the victim of fraud, there’s more work to do in other areas. Over a third (36%) of 18-24-year-olds said that they would move money from their account to keep it safe from fraud if asked by someone claiming to be from their bank It’s important to remember that a bank would never come with that request. My advice to people is to really think before you click and make sure that you and your money are safe!”