Bridlington residents urged to not fall victim to internet scams
Humberside Police is issuing advice as many will be browsing internet sales on Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
People in Bridlington and the East Riding are being urged to 'shop smart' over the festive period.
Humberside Police is issuing advice as many will be browsing internet sales on Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
Detective Sergeant Ben Robinson of the Economic Crime Unit said:
"If you are on your social media and something pops up advertising something for sale which appears to be a great price, just be really careful about that and take time to research. If you've never heard of the company before, put it into Google and see what information comes back.
"Look at the domain name of the website; is it spelled correctly? Is it what you'd expect to see? What does the website actually look like? Does it look and feel professional? Is there a green padlock on there so you know that if you do make a payment, then your details are going to be protected.
"If people receive any emails or text messages and it looks like it's from a legitimate company, be really careful about clicking on any links, going through onto websites and filling in personal details. For example, if it's from 'Netflix' saying that there's a problem with their account, then don't follow the link. Log into Netflix as they normally would and check what the issue is there.
"We have every week around 100 people who report in this area that they've been a victim of fraud. A quarter of those are victims of online shopping or online auction fraud. So you can see it's a massive problem in the area.
"If you think you've been a victim of fraud, contact your bank or see your credit card provider straight away; so they can protect your account and stop any further money being removed from it, and also take steps to try and get your money back. What you then need to do is contact Action Fraud to report that you've been a victim of fraud."
Humberside Police says there are a few simple things you can do to help keep yourself from becoming vulnerable to online scams:
- Don't pay for anything by transferring money directly to companies or people you don’t know even if - in fact, especially if - it’s an amazing deal or you just can’t find it anywhere else. If it turns out to be a scam, it’s unlikely the bank will be able to recover or refund your money. The safest way to pay for anything is by credit card.
- Make sure the site you’re visiting is authentic - The easiest way to do this is to ensure that the address is spelled correctly. Fraudsters can set up convincing websites with very similar spelling to the authentic one.
- Ensure the payment pages are secure by checking the address starts with https. The s stands for secure. There should also be a closed padlock in the address bar.
- Log out of your account when you’ve finished paying. Just closing the window doesn’t do this.
- Found that must have gift for a fraction of the price? The likelihood is that it’s a fake. It may even be dangerous and the quality certainly won’t be as good as the real thing.
- Beware the free or low cost trial - you could be signing up for large monthly direct debits that are difficult to cancel.
- If you're booking a festive getaway do some research before you book. Look for independent reviews and make sure the agent is genuine by looking for the ABTA or ATOL number.
- Always buy tickets for gigs, concerts and events from official sources otherwise you could end up shelling out a fortune for fake or non-existent tickets.
- Beware of unexpected emails, texts or posts urging you to click a link or attachment - if you’re not sure, just delete it.