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 unable to get in contact with the company to chase up the items or get a refund.
One common retail scam CERT NZ is warning about this year is when people buy an expensive item and are sent a relatively cheap one instead. When the buyer goes back to try and request a refund, the fraudulent seller refunds a small amount of the original price paid.
"The scammers on that website essentially make off with 70% of the amount."
And it's not just buyer beware - people selling items on platforms such as Facebook Marketplace should be vigilant too, Leggett said.
Some disingenuous buyers offer to send the money to the seller via courier, but only if the seller pays a small amount as insurance, due to the perceived risk taken by the buyer in sending the money.
"Ultimately that's just a scam to get away with that little bit of money that the seller provides," Leggett said.
Spotting scammers before they strike
CERT NZ's Sam Leggett said fake sites are becoming increasingly clever, making it a lot harder to distinguish a genuine deal from a dodgy one.
"They are really sophisticated and they very closely mimic genuine sites, so it can be very difficult to spot these fake or impersonation sites."
However, there are some key red flags indicating a website is not what it seems.
Some sites use "nz.com" or similar in their domain names to try and imitate URLs from legitimate websites.
Buyers can also watch out for spelling or grammar mistakes on a website, which are good indicators that it's not genuine.
An online store's contact page is often a good place to check, Leggett said.
"Often times what you'll find on these fake websites is that their 'contact us' page is not really populated at all, they might have an email address but that's it.
"Reputable organisations these days typically have a contact form, number, email address, or a chatbot to help you out."
Leggett said he understands online shoppers wanting to snag the best deal they can find this holiday season, but it could end up costing them a lot more.
"If it seems to good to be true... it probably is."
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