One in ten internet users have been victims of online fraud in the past 12 months, according to new research.
The average amount lost by the users was £875, the research by the government and industry online safety campaign Get Safe Online revealed.
There are currently 29 million UK adults using the internet and the research found that some 3.5 million have been victims of fraud in the past year, with six per cent having been targeted while shopping online.
Statistics show that the number of online fraud cases has risen as the number of internet users has increased. Some 93 per cent of people using the internet use it every day, spending an average of £1,044 a year on e-commerce.
Get Safe Online urged Britons to be as vigilant when buying goods online as they would be when shopping on the high street.
Pat McFadden, minister with responsibility for transformational government, said: "The internet is transforming how we get and use information. It is also helping us reform our public services around the needs of the individual.
"However, as we make more services available online so we need users to take the same basic precautions in using the internet as they would when making transactions in the high street – such as not sharing your bank details or passwords."
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