Don't be caught out on Black Friday

Published: 21/11/2022

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, there’s no better time to start thinking about how to do your online shopping safely. To help protect your money and your personal data, we've pulled together some things to be mindful of when shopping online.

Our advice

Buy from trusted sources

Stick to retailers and websites that you trust and are well known. If you do need to buy from somewhere unfamiliar, look at reviews on Trustpilot or Facebook to get an idea of the site’s reputation.

Also look for the https padlock symbol in the address bar of your browser. Remember – if a deal on a site you’ve never heard of sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Watch what's in your inbox

Be wary of emails, texts or other messages you receive about orders or deliveries. Cybercriminals use the large amount of online shopping activity around this time to trick you into handing over your money or personal information by sending messages about orders you haven’t made. Watch out for suspicious messages that appear to be from Royal Mail, DPD etc. asking you to pay for delivery fees.

Use the guest checkout

You don’t always need to make an account when buying online. Many sites allow you to checkout as a guest and doing so reduces the amount of information you give out. If you do have to make an account, it’s a good idea choosing not to save your payment information so you’re protected if a cybercriminal ever gains access to your account.

Payment services like PayPal, Google Pay and Apple Pay are a secure way to check out online. Using these services means retailers never have direct access to your payment card details.

Helping others

Even if you feel confident about online shopping, others around you might need help. Those who don’t regularly do it won’t know the risks so talk to your parents, grandparents and siblings about how they can stay safe on the web.

You can report spam or malicious texts by forwarding them to 7726. If you believe you’re the victim of online fraud, you can report this on the Action Fraud website or by calling 0300 123 2040.

The NTU Digital Technologies service desk can also help if you need advice.