31 January 2025 , 05:42
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Online shopping fraud rose quickly to cost consumers more than £56 million last year, marking an increase of 20% in shopping scams.
Consumers reported 68,000 cases of online shopping fraud in the 2023-24 financial year, according to data from Action Fraud obtained by the Lib Dems through a Freedom of Information request.
Consumers suffered a total of more than £56.3 million in losses as a result - up 20% from the year before.
This is compared to £46.6 million of losses in the previous year to fraudulent online shopping scams and some 66,000 cases reported.
Action Fraud describes online shopping fraud as "shopping scams that rely on the anonymity of the internet".
The Lib Dems are calling for a national Online Crime Agency to be set up to deal with crimes such as personal fraud and threats and incitement to violence on social media.
Party leader Sir Ed Davey said: "Criminals are preying on vulnerable people with frauds and scams online on an industrial scale.
"Yet the last Conservative Government sat on its hands and let these fraudsters get away with it.
"People have lost eye-watering amounts of money to online fraudsters and we urgently need real action to stop them.
"Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to set up a new Online Crime Agency to tackle fraud, bring these vile criminals to justice, and free up police time to focus on keeping our communities safe.”
Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, based out of the City of London police.
Action Fraud has an online toolkit showing steps people can take to protect themselves from online fraud.
They urge people to not give out their personal data, make sure their devices have good, updated antivirus software, and double check if emails are from a reputable source - among many other steps.
UK Finance published their numbers on fraud and scams in the first half of 2024, revealing that over £570 million was stolen by scammers in the time period.
It showed that 72% of fraud cases came from online courses, which account for 32% of the value of losses.