Duped: Parents need to keep safe online this Christmas
New research carried out by VoucherCodesPro.co.uk has shown that 11 per cent of British parents has fallen victim to spam emails during the run up to Christmas.
Out of 1642 people surveyed, 82 per cent admitted to receiving spam emails offering discounts on the latest goods. 11 per cent of those that received the emails attempted to buy from them.
Parents are under a lot of pressure to deliver at Christmas. No one wants to see their children disappointed, but it’s hard to meet expectations in the current economic climate, especially when....
When asked, the most common reason for parents trying to buy the discounted toys and games was because they were looking to buy presents for Christmas, with 67 per cent admitting that they were looking to save money. 31 per cent of those that attempted to buy from the sites thought that they were buying from legitimate websites.
The top offers were on computer games, electronics and toys, with clothing and fashion accessories also commonly being used in cyber theft.
Fortunately, only 2 per cent of all email respondents lost out on money.
George Charles of VoucherCodesPro, said: “Parents are under a lot of pressure to deliver at Christmas. No one wants to see their children disappointed, but it’s hard to meet expectations in the current economic climate, especially when they are asking for things such as video games, which can be quite expensive.”
He added:“Everyone is desperate for discounts in the run up to Christmas, which is understandable. But I’d suggest sticking to reputable websites rather than following up on suspicious emails. The old adage is pertinent in this situation; if it seems too good to be true then it probably is.”
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