Online shopping scams rise by a third in 2020

Online shopping fraud has shot up by a third in 2020, with increased spending during COVID-19 lockdowns likely being the leading cause.

The first half year of 2020 saw online shopping and auction fraud increased by 37%, reaching 40,900 cases, according to personal finance comparison site Finder, which commissioned and analysed a freedom of information request to Action Fraud.

This is an increase of 11,000 reports on the 29,900 for the same period last year, the data shows.

Online shopping and auction fraud is when a product is advertised in a “misrepresentative” 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.

The FOI data shows total of £29.7m ($39m) was lost between January and June this year – meaning online shopping and auction fraud now represent over two thirds (65%) of all consumer fraud reports in 2020.

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A lot of the cases appear to involve big-ticket items, with the average loss per case being £726.

One of the reasons behind the rise in this type of fraud is the increase in popularity of online shopping during lockdown, Finder’s analysis suggests.

ONS data shows the total value of online shopping transactions increased by a third when compared to first half of 2019.

Based on July data, Finder predicted the trend of increased consumer fraud may remain high and actually increase throughout the remainder of 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.

Similarly, the total reported losses increased by 31% or £1.5m in July, to stand at £6.3m, the data shows.

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The research also found Google search interest in “fraud” has increased by 14.3% since the beginning of July compared to the first six months of 2020.

Four in five online shopping fraud victims were under the age of 50, with those in their twenties being the most likely to be a victim of online shopping fraud. Reports from this age group account for 29% of the total reports so far in 2020.

Regionally, London has the most incidences of online shopping fraud. The Metropolitan police received 6,545 reports of online shopping fraud, which represents 16% of all the UK’s online shopping fraud cases in the first half of 2020.

Following the capital were the West Midlands and Manchester, with both areas reporting 4% of the country's online shopping fraud. Guernsey reported the least, with only three cases over the six-month period.

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