Fraudsters duped Irish online shoppers out of nearly €45m in just six months

Fraudsmart said the increase  was driven by online card fraud or 'card not present', where a fraudster uses the victim’s compromised card information to make an online purchase.

Fraudsters stole nearly €45m from Irish consumers through a variety of scams in just six months.

The startling figure comes as more consumers turn towards online shopping ahead of Christmas and as the busy Black Friday sale period kicks off.