Bank issues warning to people shopping for online bargains in the New Year sales

dailyrecord.co.uk:

January sales bargain hunters are being warned by a bank to watch out for dodgy retailers claiming to offer big online discounts.

The number of rogue retailers identified by Lloyds Banking Group in January 2024 was 140 per cent higher than the normal monthly average across the year, suggesting that criminals are targeting people keen to snap up a post-Christmas bargain in the New Year sales.Rogue retailers deceive shoppers into making purchases by creating fake websites, made to look like popular high-street brands, but after shoppers have made the purchase, the fraudster pockets the cash without sending the item.

The scam can cause credit card transaction disputes to peak in January, with Lloyds seeing a 40 per cent increase in disputes in January 2024, compared to the normal monthly average.Lloyds said that scammers may also offer heavily-discounted goods via social media.

Clothing tends to be the most common item purchased from rogue retailers, followed by jewellery.The bank said rogue retailer scams have cost £8.5 million between January and November 2024, based on the group’s own credit and debit card customer data.