€150m in web festive spree

ALMOST three-quarters of adults turned to the internet for Christmas shopping last year, splashing out €150 million during the festive season.

Research carried out for the Makeitsecure computer security campaign also found one-in-four adults had been targeted by online crooks.

Of Ireland’s 3.4m people aged 15 or over, about 850,000 had encountered problems like rogue emails asking for their bank accounts.

Other security threats included the theft of credit card details as well as secret programs in their computers trying to look for confidential information.

Now the Government and computer industry are urging consumers to ensure they know how to avoid pitfalls while shopping online.

Television presenter Craig Doyle, fronting the campaign, said: “Consumers are doing everything from booking holidays to downloading music and ordering goods online these days.

“This is a wonderful development and is set to grow. However, people need to be careful about how they operate online and take some simple precautions to protect themselves and avoid any security threats.”

The makeitsecure.org website, which is part of a cross-border initiative between Government and industry has tips on how consumers can shop in safety when they use the internet.

Research found 3% of Irish adults had credit cards details stolen online.