Online shopping scams: Statistics for 2023

Online shopping is quick and easy, and it can help you compare prices from a range of places. However, there are some risks when using your credit card online. We explore the latest statistics on the rise of online shopping scams.

Quick overview

An estimated £285.2 million was lost to e-commerce fraud on UK cards in 2022, down 16% from 2021 and down 24% from 2020.
There were 71,894 reports of online shopping scams in the year to October 2023.
The average person who reported online shopping fraud to the police lost £1,486 per scam.
Merchants are expected to lose £31 billion ($38 billion) to online payment fraud worldwide in 2023.
Counterfeit goods scams were the second most common type of online fraud, impacting 42% of those who had experienced fraud.
Purchase scams starting on Facebook and Instagram are expected to cost UK consumers more than £27 million in 2023.
Two-thirds (68%) of all online purchase scams in the UK start on Facebook and Instagram.
From October 2022 to October 2023, the value of almost half (47%) of all losses was reported in December 2022.

How much is lost to online shopping scams each year?

It is estimated that £285.2 million was lost to e-commerce fraud on UK cards in 2022, down 16% from £339.2 million losses in 2021. During the past decade, losses from e-commerce fraud peaked in 2020, most likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and reliance on online shopping.

Before 2020, the total amount lost to online shopping fraud had been gradually increasing year-on-year, but the trend now looks as though this is declining.

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Year	Losses (£ millions)
2013	£140.2 million
2014	£190.1 million
2015	£219.1 million
2016	£261.5 million
2017	£310.3 million
2018	£310.4 million
2019	£360.5 million
2020	£377.2 million
2021	£339.2 million
2022	£285.2 million

How much do merchants lose to e-commerce fraud?

Merchants are expected to lose around £31 billion ($38 billion) to online payment fraud worldwide in 2023, and this is expected to reach a total of around £75 billion ($91 billion) by 2028. Projections suggest that, over the next 5 years, merchants operating online stores will lose a grand total of almost £300 billion ($362 billion) worldwide.

How many online shopping scams are reported to the police?

There were 71,894 reports of online shopping scams in the year to October 2023, with reported losses of £106.8 million made to the police. The average person lost £1,486 per online shopping scam, based on those instances reported to the police.

Almost half (47%) of the value of reported losses in the year to October 2023 were reported in December 2022. This is likely due to increased online shopping before Christmas and during the Black Friday sales, with more opportunities for online shopping scams to take place.

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Year	Reported monthly losses (£ millions)
Oct 22	£4.2 million
Nov 22	£9 million
Dec 22	£50.7 million
Jan 23	£4.2 million
Feb 23	£4 million
Mar 23	£5.1 million
Apr 23	£5.1 million
May 23	£4.4 million
Jun 23	£4.7 million
Jul 23	£6.8 million
Aug 23	£4.8 million
Sep 23	£3.9 million

There were a total of 129,027 consumer fraud reports in the 12-month period to October 2023, which means that online shopping fraud accounted for more than half (56%) of all reported consumer fraud.

There were a total of 354,596 fraud and cyber crime reports made to the police in this period, which means that 1 in 5 (20%) of these reports was related to online shopping and auction fraud.

Shopping on social media platforms is becoming more popular, particularly with the rise of Facebook Marketplace, which allows people to sell their second-hand items to those who are looking for a better deal than buying something new.

However, according to external research, purchase scams starting on Facebook and Instagram are becoming very common, and around two-thirds (68%) of all online purchase scams start on Facebook (including Facebook Marketplace) and Instagram. These social media-based online shopping scams are expected to cost UK consumers more than £27 million in 2023.

Which age group is most susceptible to online shopping fraud?

Demographic data from 2020 shows that people in their 20s were the most likely to be a victim of an online shopping scam, making up 29% of the total reports. They were followed by people in their 30s (23%), 40s (17%) and teens (12%). As a result, 80% of all online shopping fraud victims were under the age of 50.

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Age of Victims	Victim %
0-9	0.17%
10-19	11.90%
20-29	28.92%
30-39	22.77%
40-49	16.56%
50-59	11.78%
60-69	5.52%
70-79	2.04%
80-89	0.32%
90-99	0.02%

Guidance to help avoid online shopping and auction fraud

There are a few things you can do to mitigate the risk of online shopping and auction fraud. ActionFraud has suggested various steps both buyers and sellers can take.

Tips for buyers

Install the latest software updates to fend against criminals using weaknesses in software to steal data such as payment details.
Check the domain name carefully, and check the retailer is legitimate.
Check the seller’s review history and feedback, and keep an eye out for fake reviews.
Make sure you have a strong, separate password for your email so criminals can’t use your email to access other online shopping accounts.
Don’t click on a link in an unexpected email or text.
If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Do your research on average prices on the market.
Where possible, avoid paying for goods by money transfers as they are not secure.
Be careful when using direct banking transactions to pay for goods.
Make sure transactions are secure. Look for the padlock symbol on the browser window and make sure the website begins with “https://” (the “s” stands for “secure”).
Don’t send confidential personal or financial information by email.
Use an online payment option such as PayPal, which helps to protect you.

Tips for sellers

Receive payment confirmation before sending goods.
Be careful about accepting cheque payments. Although cheques may clear, you are still liable if the cheque is forged or stolen.
Do not accept a cheque for a higher amount and refund the difference. This is a common fraud that only comes to light when the buyer’s cheque turns out to be stolen or forged.
Take pictures of items before posting them so you have proof of condition in case of a fraudulent claim.

If you believe you are a victim of online shopping and auction fraud, report it to Action Fraud.

Sources

Action Fraud
Office for National Statistics (UK)

As we are forced to become armchair shoppers due to COVID, we are more likely to be a victim of fraudulent shopping scams over the internet. While online shopping is a fantastic way to compare prices, save money and find the best shopping deals, there are also risks when using your credit card online.

We explore the latest statistics on the rise of online shopping and auction fraud and give some tips on how to have a safer online shopping experience.

What is online shopping and auction fraud?

Online shopping and auction fraud is when a product is advertised in a misrepresenting manner on an online shop or auction site. It also includes when customers who buy products through these sites do not receive the items they purchased

Online shopping is becoming increasingly popular. For example, since the start of 2016, the value of internet retail sales has almost tripled. As a result, online shopping and auction fraud is becoming more common.

What are the most common types of online shopping and auction fraud?

The most pressing issue for a victim of online shopping or auction fraud is that they have no chance of returning the goods or having their money refunded.

There is also a danger that your identity details could be compromised. Fraudsters could steal your identity and use it to access your personal finances or obtain goods or finance from alternative sources.

Here are some of the most common reports of online shopping and auction frauds:

Buyers receiving goods late, or not at all
Sellers not receiving payment
Buyers receiving goods that are either less valuable than those advertised or significantly different from the original description
Failure to disclose relevant information about a product or the terms of sale.

How much is lost on online shopping and auction fraud?

In the first half of 2020 (1st January-30th June), there was a reported loss of £29.7 million attributed to online shopping and auction fraud. This works out as an average loss of £726 per case of fraud.

The reported losses from online shopping and auction fraud have been rising. In July 2020, the total reported losses for online fraud totalled £6.3 million, which is up 31% (£1.5 million) from the same month last year.

Number of online shopping and auction frauds committed: the impact of COVID-19

The number of reported online shopping and auction frauds committed has been increasing. This is likely down to the rise in popularity of online shopping over recent times.

With the occurrence of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, consumers relied on online shopping more than ever before, with a 33% increase in online retail sale value in the first half of 2020 compared to 2019.

First half of 2019 vs. First half of 2020 (1st January-30th June)

With consumers being more dependent on online shopping, fraud in this area has become more common. We compared the number of online shopping and auction fraud reports for the first half of 2019 and 2020 (1st January-30th June).

There were 40,914 reports of online shopping and auction frauds in the first half of 2020, up by over 11,000 reports (37%) compared to the same period in 2019 (1st January-30th June). As a result, online shopping and auction fraud accounted for 65% of all consumer fraud reports in the first half of 2020.

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	Number of consumer fraud reports	Of which are online shopping and auction fraud
2020a	62,868	40,914
2019a	49,928	29,918

July 2019 vs July 2020

We also compared the number of reported consumer frauds and the proportion of which were online shopping related in July 2019 vs July 2020. There were 9,090 reported cases of online shopping related fraud in July 2020, 60% more than the 5,680 reports in July 2019. If the July data is anything to go by, the trend of online shopping fraud may continue to increase throughout the remainder of 2020.

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	Number of consumer fraud reports	Of which are online shopping and auction fraud
July 2020	13,918	9,093
July 2019	10,471	5,677

Who is most susceptible to online shopping and auction fraud?

Our analysis found that certain groups of people are more susceptible than others to online shopping scams.

Age Groups

People in their 20s are most likely to be a victim of online shopping fraud, making up 29% of the total reports so far in 2020. They are followed by people in their 30s (23%), 40s (17%) and teens (12%). As a result, 80% of all online shopping fraud victims were under the age of 50.

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Table

Age of Victims	Victim %
0-9	0.17%
10-19	11.90%
20-29	28.92%
30-39	22.77%
40-49	16.56%
50-59	11.78%
60-69	5.52%
70-79	2.04%
80-89	0.32%
90-99	0.02%

Gender Differences

In our analysis of gender differences, there wasn’t too big a difference. Men accounted for 48.4% of fraud victims, whilst women accounted for 42.2%, leaving 9.4% unknown.

“Unfortunately, it was always likely that the increase in online shopping would mean more people falling victim to scams. Although they can be hard to spot, there are a few things you can do to avoid being scams when shopping online:
1) Use secure payment methods
“If you can, avoid paying for goods by bank transfers as they are harder to recover. Similarly, if you are paying online through a website, make sure that it is secure. If you can see a lock icon on the left side of the URL bar, this means the website is secure. If you want to be extra careful, use a credit card or an online payment platform like PayPal, which offer additional protection.
2) Contact the website you buy the product from
“If you experience an issue using a reputable online marketplace like eBay, then they advise you to contact the seller first to ensure they haven’t just been slow to post the item. If that doesn’t work, then these sites will have guidelines and help available to try and resolve the problem before you escalate the matter to your credit card issuer, payment service used or even the police.
3) Keeps your details and passwords safe
“Never share your passwords with anyone, and never send confidential personal or financial information by email. Additionally, make sure your passwords are strong and have a different password for each account or at least use a unique one for your email, so criminals can’t use your email to access your other online shopping accounts. Consider using a password manager like lastpass, which will create very strong passwords for each online account. And make sure you enable multi-factor authentication.
4) Make sure you have the most up-to-date browser and security software
“Installing the latest software updates will help to prevent fraudsters from accessing and stealing your payment details through weaknesses in outdated software. This can be easy to forget about but can make a big difference.””

– Jon Ostler, UK CEO at finder.com

Am I a victim of shopping and auction fraud?

You’ve bought goods from an online seller that are either late in arriving or don’t arrive at all.
You’ve received goods from an online seller that don’t match the original description.
You’ve given identity details or personal financial information to an online seller who has used them in criminal ways.

If you believe you are a victim of online shopping and auction fraud, report it to Action Fraud.

Sources

Action Fraud
Office for National Statistics (UK)

The data was obtained through a FOI request to Action Fraud on 18th August 2020 and through the Action Fraud dashboard. We analysed how levels of fraud in January to June 2020 changed in comparison to January to June 2019, as well as a direct comparison between July 2020 and 2019.