How to stay safe shopping online

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With an ISIS logo, IMRG says it certifies that a retailer has registered with them and is confident that they are trading fairly. They also has have their websites and services monitored, and their business, VAT and data protection all checked.

McClelland said: “We run an audit on a candidate’s website, looking at their terms and conditions and making sure that they are legally compliant.

“There is best practice, like whether a telephone number is available whether the e-retailer gives satisfactory response for any email requests.”

McClelland advised shoppers to go for a brand that they trusted either by size or experience, or a website that was showing a trust mark like the one from ISIS.

As well at the ISIS logo, McClelland said that users can check if the retail website has an Extended Validation SSL Certificate, which gives web browsers information to identify an organisation’s identity with a green bar.

This shows that that the retailer has gone through background checks on its server security and confirmed the identity behind the website, and whether it does provide a safe end-to-end shopping experience.

McClelland said that a problem that any IT-related industry had was that consumers become very task-focused at the point when they should be looking for security messages.

“For example, we always say look for the padlock or HTTPS. But when they appear most people are at the payment stage and are fumbling around with their credit cards to make sure they are putting the details right," he said.

“They are not looking at the periphery of the website. We would suggest that when you get to the payment stage, take a moment to double check those things.”

Verified by Visa and Mastercard SecureCode are security initiatives put in place that offer another level of security if a fraudster does have your card and tries to use it for an online purchase.

This is technology put in place by card companies. If given a choice, McClelland recommended that users sign up to the scheme, which does make things make more difficult for criminals.

There are processes that you can go through if the worst happens. Contacting your bank may help you get your money back if something has gone wrong with your account.

McClelland said: “It’s not the end of the world if it has happened, but before that make sure you understand where you are putting in your card details, and double check them.”

He also said that it was better to use a credit card for purchases than debit cards, as they offered a higher level of protection.

Graham Cluley, senior security consultant, Sophos

Cluley warned online shoppers that in the past couple of years, it had become more common for legitimate websites to become infected with malware.

He said that shoppers needed to use up-to-date antivirus software and firewalls on any computer that they used, because even if they were going to a well-known name there was always a chance they could have become infected.

Cluley also urged computer users to keep their software patched, whether they're using browsers or plugins like Adobe Flash, which has become a big target for hackers in the past year.

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