Black Friday online shoppers warned about 'relentless' criminals

Electricals, mobile phones and jewellery were the most common items fraudsters offered to victims last year. Credit: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

Black Friday is the UK’s biggest online shopping day, with retailers expected to make over £1 billion on the day.

The day is an American tradition that sees retailers cut prices on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

The day often sees customers queueing outside shops from the early hours of the morning in order to get the best deals. In recent years, police have had to be called in to deal with disorder and crowd control.

Online, many retailers start their sales at midnight, but this year, many shops began their sales at the start of the week, and will continue to offer deals until Cyber Monday.

With so many people buying via the internet, police across Wales are warning the public to be careful online.

Last year, items such as electricals, mobile phones and jewellery were the most common items which fraudsters offered to victims.

To avoid being scammed this year, police across Wales have issued advice on what to look out for when buying online.

  • Shop with websites that you have used before and trust.

  • Be wary of emails that contain links to sites that mimic a genuine retailer’s website.

  • Ensure you’re using a secure website – look out for a padlock symbol on the right hand side of the address bar.

  • Make sure that the device and software you’re using is kept up to date.

  • When making a payment always use a secure method like PayPal.

  • If you don’t have a PayPal account and you’re buying something valued at over £100 always use a credit card. You’ll have more protection than using a debit card.

  • Never buy using public Wi fi. Cybercriminals can hack the connection and intercept your information.