If you are making online purchases over the festive period, remember to shop safely – that’s the message from Gardaí in Donegal this week.
One of the golden rules is to buy only from trusted websites and avoid buying from people who are unknown and whose identity cannot be verified.
In the period from 1st of January 2022 until 31st October 2022, 550 Online Shopping Frauds have been reported to An Garda Síochána. The average loss was €1,537 per incident representing an overall loss to Irish citizens of €845,093.31.
The business community are frequently targeted by fraudsters using stolen or compromised credit cards, bank accounts or payments, in what is called Card Not Present Fraud. Businesses who are victims of this fraud will suffer losses under the ‘charge back’ process.
As we enter this busy season, consumers and businesses will be particularly active online and An Garda Síochána and Europol advise consumers to follow the golden rules for online shopping.
Consumer advice:
- – One of the principal rules is to only engage with known and trusted businesses and websites and avoid doing business with people who are unknown and whose identity cannot be verified!
- – Be wary when a product is being offered for sale at a price well below market value. Fraudsters will have a well-rehearsed story to explain the low price, don’t fall for it!
- – Think twice before sending money for a product in advance to an unknown person or entity. Carry out checks first!
- – Make the purchase using recognized payment systems or your credit card rather than direct transfers from your bank account or payment card!
- – Don’t record your card or account details on a website if you are not going to buy anything!
- – Never give away unnecessary personal data, such as your date of birth, social insurance number, password or pin numbers!
- – Read the terms and conditions and save all messages and documentation related to the purchase.
- – The higher the value of the product the more care you should take before making a purchase.
Business owner advice:
- – Know your product: is it a high value product? Is it easy to re-sell? Is there any history of product being attractive to fraudsters? Can you identify risks associated with the product? Talk to the customer about the product to test their knowledge of it
- – Know your customer: identify their name, address and eircode. If the customer is another business, research it. Is their address / email / phone number genuine? Is their account held in a different country? How do they wish to pay? What address are they using for delivery?
- – Implement safe means of payment: talk to your acquirer about safe means of payment. Use 3d secure payment services. Keep a record of transactions for reference in the event of charge backs. Have an efficient resolution process to deal with charge back.
- – Use a professional and reliable delivery system: check the delivery address. Only allow re-routing to known customers. Have signature to confirm delivery. If in doubt don’t deliver.
- – Keep your data secure: have up to date IT systems including anti-virus software. Ensure all data is securely backed up very regularly and that it is readily accessible if necessary. Be GDPR compliant.
