Online shopping fraud has become one of the most common types of fraud reported to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud reporting service, and it spikes reliably around key shopping periods like Black Friday and Christmas. Understanding the common tactics can make the difference between a genuine bargain and a costly fake.
The scale of the problem
Action Fraud data illustrates just how significant this fraud category has become: victims of online shopping fraud lost £16 million to cyber criminals in a single Christmas period, according to Action Fraud reporting. A separate Action Fraud alert found that people aged 18–26 were most at risk during a period when over £16 million was lost to online shopping fraud, suggesting this isn’t a problem limited to less tech-savvy shoppers — younger, digitally confident buyers are frequently targeted too.
The two main patterns
Action Fraud guidance groups most online shopping and auction fraud into two broad categories:
- Non-delivery fraud — you pay for an item, often through an auction site or marketplace listing, and it simply never arrives.
- Misrepresentation fraud — the item does arrive, but it’s counterfeit, fake, damaged, or significantly different from how it was described or pictured in the listing.
Both patterns rely on the buyer paying before they can properly verify what they’re getting, which is why payment method and seller verification matter so much in preventing this type of fraud.
Protecting yourself before you buy
Action Fraud’s core advice centres on a few consistent principles:
- Research unfamiliar sellers first. If you’re buying from a company or individual you don’t already know and trust, do some research before paying — check reviews, look for a genuine business address and contact details, and be wary of listings that only exist on social media with no verifiable storefront.
- Ask someone else. Action Fraud specifically recommends asking a friend or family member for a second opinion before completing an unfamiliar purchase, particularly for higher-value items — a second perspective can catch red flags you’ve talked yourself past.
- Pay by credit card where possible. Credit cards offer additional legal protection for purchases over a certain value in the UK, which debit cards and direct bank transfers generally don’t provide to the same extent.
- Use a strong, unique password for your email account. Action Fraud guidance notes that criminals can use compromised email access to reach into other online accounts, including those used for shopping, so your email password is worth protecting as carefully as your banking details.
Red flags worth pausing over
While no single list can cover every scam variation, common warning signs include prices significantly below the norm for a genuine product, sellers pushing unusual payment methods such as bank transfer, gift cards or cryptocurrency rather than standard card payment, listings with only stock photos and no genuine product images, and pressure tactics suggesting the deal or stock is about to disappear. None of these guarantee a listing is fraudulent on their own, but several appearing together is a strong reason to slow down and verify before paying.
If something feels wrong after you’ve paid
If an order doesn’t arrive as expected, or arrives clearly different from the listing, Action Fraud recommends contacting the seller and the platform first to attempt resolution, and contacting your card provider or bank if payment was made by card, since chargeback processes exist for exactly this situation. If you believe you’ve been the victim of fraud rather than a straightforward customer service issue, report it to Action Fraud online or by calling 0300 123 2040.
A habit worth building
Most online shopping fraud relies on a buyer skipping the basic verification steps in the moment — a good deal, limited time pressure, and a slightly unfamiliar seller. Building the habit of a quick pause and check before paying, particularly for sellers or platforms you haven’t used before, is one of the most effective ways to avoid becoming a statistic in Action Fraud’s next seasonal shopping fraud report.
Marketplace and social media listings need extra scrutiny
Fraudulent listings increasingly appear on social media marketplaces and within targeted adverts rather than only on dedicated shopping sites, and Action Fraud’s guidance on auction and shopping fraud applies just as much here, if not more. A social media advert can be set up quickly, run briefly to catch a wave of buyers, and disappear before enough people report it — which is part of why an advert appearing on a platform you trust generally (like a major social network) doesn’t itself vouch for the seller behind it. The same verification steps apply: checking for a genuine business presence beyond the single advert, looking for independent reviews rather than only testimonials on the seller’s own page, and being cautious of accounts that are very new or have minimal posting history relative to the volume of sales they claim.
It’s also worth remembering that scammers frequently target seasonal high-demand items specifically — sold-out toys, event tickets, or discounted electronics around sales periods — precisely because urgency and scarcity make buyers more likely to skip their usual checks. If a search for a hard-to-find item turns up an unfamiliar seller offering it readily in stock, that’s a reasonable moment to apply extra scrutiny rather than relief at finally finding what you’re after.