ONLINE shoppers looking for savings over the festive period are being urged to stay alert to potential scams and secure their accounts ahead of the Black Friday sales.

Some £11.8m was lost to online shopping fraud over last year’s festive shopping season, according to data from the City of London Police, the operational lead for tackling fraud nationally.

The government’s ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign provides trusted, practical guidance to help individuals and small businesses protect themselves from cyber criminals at a time when many people will be looking for deals online.

• Check the shop is legitimate by combing through reviews;

• Make sure to turn on two-step verification to help bolster your online security;

• If possible, check out as a guest, thereby not allowing the website to store your card details;

• Be wary of messages or phone calls relating to deliveries

If you think you have been a victim of cybercrime, report the incident to Action Fraud via phone (0300 123 2040) or via their website at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk

If you think you have lost money or given out sensitive financial information to scammers, alert your bank.

Call them right away to inform them of the suspicious incident.

You can quickly reach many UK banks' fraud departments by calling 159.

If you've received a suspicious email, please forward it to the NCSC's suspicious email reporting service (SERS) at [email protected].

Forward suspicious text messages onto 7726.

For more information, including advice on how to protect yourself against phishing, visit the NCSC website.