Consumers targeted by seven million fraud scam attempts

New research from TSB shows that a quarter (24%) of UK consumers who have shopped on Black Friday or Cyber Monday say they have experienced attempts at fraud during the weekend sales in the past.

TSB’s research shows that only one in ten (14%) think about whether a website appears fraudulent when shopping in these sales. The findings also reveal that almost a third (30%) of consumers are planning to shop in the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be a hotspot for fraudulent activity – at peak shopping moments scammers are likely to take advantage of shoppers with fake websites, identity theft and fake adverts. According to the latest annual results for the Crime Survey for England and Wales, there has been a 17% increase in fraud offences over the last year.

The reports also says that avoiding fraud isn’t the only thing consumers should watch out for this Black Friday. Last year, Consumers who shopped on Black Friday spent an average of £235, and the findings show that this year a quarter (24%) of shoppers are set to spend more. With only 4% setting a budget for Black Friday spending and just 3% planning to save in advance, it’s not surprising that over a third of consumers who have shopped on Black Friday or Cyber Monday (36%) have previously regretted their Black Friday and Cyber Monday spending.

TSB’s data shows that shoppers are being more careful when it comes to spending, perhaps as a result of the current economic and politic uncertainty. The research shows that only 7% of consumers who are likely to shop in the sales this year plan to use a credit card to make purchases. The UK has seen a dramatic drop in credit card spending over recent months.

The Bank of England announced that in September the extra amount borrowed by consumers in order to buy goods and services fell by £100 million to £800 million, and for the second month in a row was below £1.1 billion, the average since July 2018.