Kiwis are being warned to take extra care this holiday season with online shopping scams on the rise.
With the cost of living going up, it appears scammers are taking advantage of New Zealanders looking to cut costs this holiday season.
Cybersecurity organisation CERT NZ said fake shopping sites are popping up with increased frequency as more people flock to do their Christmas shopping.
“The reporting for being scammed when buying or selling goods online spikes at the start of the year, during quarter one, and at the end of the year at quarter four,” CERT NZ threat analyst Sam Leggett said.
More than three-quarters of Kiwis surveyed by cybersecurity company NortonLifeLock said they’re trying to save money on this year’s Christmas shopping, opening themselves up to the risk of getting scammed.
“New Zealand’s inflation rate is understandably tough on wallets and we expect that will make this Christmas season particularly appealing to scammers,” NortonLifeLock senior director Mark Gorrie said.
“Kiwis need to remain vigilant and be really careful to protect themselves when shopping this holiday, as cybercriminals will leverage ‘too good to be true’ deals to steal credit card details and other private information.”
Previous holiday shopping scams had fleeced unwitting buyers out of more than $500 on average, the survey found.
What to look out for
Typical scams involve people buying from websites and not receiving their goods, and then being…
