Online fraud hits one in ten

One in ten UK consumers have been the victim of online fraud according to new government research.

As internet spending grew to £30 billion a year in the UK, a survey carried out by the Get Safe online campaign found that victims of internet fraud have lost on average £875 pounds each.

The survey also revealed that part of the problem is that over half of the UK’s internet consumers assumed that their online financial security was being looked after by their banks and internet service providers.

Tony Neate, the Get Online managing director said: "The internet now is the real world.

"We don’t blame the police when we get burgled and we must take responsibility for what we do online in the same way we do for securing our houses and cars."

By failing to take responsibility many users are neglecting basic security procedures.

Nearly half admitted that they did not have spyware software that could protect their details.

Others said that they had ignored advice from experts, with one in five replying to spam messages and ten per cent clicking on a link in spam mail.

As well as the five per cent of internet users suffering fraud while shopping, four percent have suffered from identity theft and three per cent have had their bank details stolen.