How do I shop online safely in the Christmas rush?
The seasonal scams, why paying by credit card matters, and the checks that take thirty seconds.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 20 min
- Read
- 2 min
- Safety
- caution
Short answer
Pay by credit card where you can — purchases over £100 carry protection the card issuer is jointly liable for. Never pay by bank transfer for goods, and treat any deal well below market price as a warning rather than a find.
December concentrates online fraud: people are buying from unfamiliar sellers, in a hurry, expecting deliveries, and less likely to scrutinise a message about a parcel. The countermeasures are simple and they are mostly about payment method.
Safety
Step by step
- Pay by credit card for anything significant.For credit purchases between roughly £100 and £30,000 the card provider is jointly liable with the retailer. This protection is free and it is the strongest available.
- Never pay by bank transfer for goods.There is no comparable protection. Any seller insisting on a transfer, gift cards or cryptocurrency is either a scam or leaving you unprotected.
- Be suspicious of prices well below the market.The hard-to-find item in stock at a fraction of the price, on a site you have not heard of, is the classic seasonal scam.
- Check the site before buying.Look for a physical address and a landline, check how long the domain has existed, and search the name with the word "scam". Fake shops appear in November and vanish in January.
- Expect fake delivery messages.The most common seasonal scam. A text or email about a missed parcel or a small fee. Never follow the link — go to the courier's own site and use the tracking number from your order confirmation.
- Buy directly rather than through a link.Whatever the source of the offer, type the retailer's address yourself. It removes the entire category of link-based scams.
- Watch out for social media marketplace ads.Fake shops advertise heavily on social platforms in December. An advert is not a recommendation and platforms vet them lightly.
- Keep every order confirmation.In one folder. Chasing a missing December delivery in January is much easier with the order numbers to hand.
Tips
- Use a credit card even if you clear it immediately. The protection applies regardless of whether you pay interest.
- Check delivery deadlines before ordering, not after. Late December cut-offs are earlier than most people assume.
- If a deal requires acting within minutes, that urgency is the scam. Genuine retailers do not work that way.
Questions people ask
Why pay by credit card rather than debit?
For credit purchases over £100 the card provider is jointly liable with the retailer, so you can claim from them if the retailer fails or the goods never arrive.
How do I spot a fake online shop?
No physical address or landline, a very new domain, prices far below market, and pressure to pay by transfer. Search the shop name with the word "scam" before buying.