Lloyds Bank has issued a warning to all customers as scams increase. The bank said people are losing £642 on average due to these scams.
Its latest billboard campaign urges people to watch out for signs when shopping online. Lloyds said the average amount people lose to online shopping scams is £642, according to the 2021 UK Finance Fraud Report.
The Echo reports Lloyds has issued advice on how to stay safe online. The bank said: "Scams are changing every week".
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It comes after analysis showed the number of online shopping scams increased by 20% in December last year. Lloyds said certain goods are particularly risky, such as trainers, clothes, gaming consoles and phones.
Warning signs, Lloyds said, include:
- The seller has recently joined the online platform
- There aren't any reviews or the reviews are bad
- You're being rushed into a bank transfer payment
Last month, Liz Ziegler, fraud prevention director at Lloyds, told the Echo: "Online shopping scams come in all shapes and sizes, but the vast majority start with items advertised on social media, where it’s too easy for fraudsters to use fake profiles and advertise goods that simply don’t exist. The safest way to pay for things online is always by debit or credit card, and buy from a trusted retailer.
"Remember that if a deal looks too good to be true, it usually is."
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