Irish consumers lost €22m in online shopping fraud last year

Gardaí say it has become more prevalent during the pandemic 

Gardaí say up to 10m online transactions were carried out over the Christmas shopping period, with a 50% increase in reports of online fraud last year.

Irish consumers lost €22m in online shopping fraud last year, data from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland shows.

The fraud occurs when a  buyer doesn’t receive the goods after making payments, or receives fake/counterfeit goods or goods not as described. The seller can also be conned, having sent their goods and do not receive payment.

Gardaí say this has become more prevalent during the Covid 19 pandemic as more and more people are shopping online.

Gardaí say up to 10m online transactions were carried out over the Christmas shopping period with a 50% increase in reports of online fraud last year.

Gardaí are advising people not to use public Wi-Fi when making payments, to never purchase through social media, and to ensure websites have an "https" at the beginning of the web address and a padlock symbol displayed beside the URL before the purchase is made, which indicates a secure connection.

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