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Bargain hunters ignore festive fraud threat

The credit crunch is driving shoppers online, despite the threat of fraudsters stepping up their activities during the Christmas period.

By Miya Knights, 10 Dec 2008 at 12:38

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Over 50 per cent of shoppers are concerned about security issues when buying over the internet, according to a survey released today.

Yet, half also said they were planning to buy more Christmas presents online this year than ever before.

The SafeNet survey questioned 280 shoppers and also found three out of four felt it was cheaper buying online than in traditional, High Street stores.

The findings are supported by figures just released that revealed the second Monday in December or ‘Mega Monday’ – traditionally the busiest in terms of online shopping – attracted 14 per cent more sales yesterday than last year.

This was despite the fact that one in three consumers surveyed admitted to not being able to judge whether a website is secure or not, as well as being concerned about ID fraud and security issues in general when shopping online.

The majority (72 per cent) of the shoppers said they based their judgement of whether an e-commerce was secure or not on brand name alone and only 14 per cent read the small print.

Worryingly, one in ten said they simply waited for a pop-up or clickthrough option.

Gary Clark, vice president in Europe, Middle East and Africa for the security provider SafeNet, said the survey revealed how bargain and value conscious the credit crunch had made consumers, in spite of their lack of faith in online retail security.

“With so many people fearful of ID fraud, they are tending to buy from well-known brands rather than independent or smaller retailers,” he said

Clarke added that those online retailers who want to ensure the highest levels of online and transactional security should look to comply with relevant regulations and include these efforts in their marketing.

“When customers come to enter their credit card details, they need 100 per cent confidence that their information will be protected,” added Clark. “Companies that comply with a security standard – such as the PCI DSS [Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard] – and communicate this to their customers, will be rewarded with success over Christmas."

“Both online and High Street shops can benefit from the competitive advantage they will gain in comparison to non-compliant, unprotected retailers, who will ultimately lose business.”