It is early December, the evenings are dark, and your phone buzzes with a message saying a parcel could not be delivered. You are expecting three parcels. You click. That moment of mild panic is exactly what scammers plan around, and the weeks before Christmas give them more chances than any other time of year. We are buying from shops we have never used, ordering late, and waiting anxiously for couriers. Here is what to check before you pay, and what to do if something slips through.

Before you buy from a shop you have never heard of

The single most useful habit is to slow down for sixty seconds before entering card details anywhere unfamiliar. Fake shops are cheap to build and often look polished, so presentation alone proves nothing.

• Read the web address carefully. Check for extra hyphens, misspellings, or a brand name sitting inside a longer domain. A UK-sounding shop ending in something odd is worth a second look.
• Look for a real business address and phone number, not just a contact form. A genuine trader will usually be reachable by more than one route.
• Check the company actually exists. If a site claims to be a UK limited company, the name and number should appear on the Companies House register.
• Search the shop's name alongside the word "scam" or "review". If other people have lost money, they tend to say so loudly and publicly.
• Read the delivery and returns pages. Vague timings, no returns policy, or text lifted word-for-word from another retailer are all warning signs.

Also check how they want to be paid. Card is not perfect, but it gives you routes to recover money. A request for a bank transfer to a personal account is a reason to walk away.

Red flags on the product page itself

Pressure is the tool of choice. Countdown timers that reset when you refresh, "only two left" on an item the shop clearly holds in bulk, and prices far below every other retailer. If a coat, console or pair of trainers is selling for a fraction of the going rate, ask why. Reviews can be faked too: dozens of five-star comments posted in the same few days, vague praise, no detail about sizing or delivery.

Dodgy delivery texts and emails

The classic version arrives as a text from an ordinary mobile number: a small unpaid fee, a link, and a request for card details. Real couriers do not usually chase redelivery payments by text message, and they never need your full card details to hand over a parcel.

If you are expecting something, go to the courier's website yourself by typing the address, then paste in the tracking number from your order confirmation. Never rely on the link. Suspicious texts can be forwarded to 7726, and phishing emails to [email protected]. Both help the wider effort even if you have not lost anything. And remember: no legitimate company will ask you to read out a one-time passcode over the phone. That code is the last lock on the door.

Payment requests that should stop you cold

Some scams do not need a fake shop at all. They simply ask you to pay in a way that leaves you with no protection.

• Bank transfers to individuals for goods. Once the money leaves, it is very hard to pull back.
• "Friends and family" options in payment apps. That setting removes buyer protection by design.
• Gift cards, vouchers or cryptocurrency. No genuine retailer or utility company asks to be paid this way.
• Changed bank details on an invoice. If a supplier emails new account details before Christmas, ring them on a number you already hold and confirm.
• Anyone rushing you. Urgency, secrecy and "do it now or the deal is gone" are the three ingredients of most fraud.

Where you can, pay by credit card for larger purchases. Purchases over £100 and under £30,000 made on a credit card can give you a claim against the card provider under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. Debit cards and PayPal have their own dispute routes, known as chargeback, though they are not a legal right in the same way. If money matters are worrying you, your bank and Citizens Advice are the right places to ask.

Deals that are too good to be true

Social media feeds fill up in December with ads for "outlet" pages selling branded goods at impossible prices. Some are simply fake. Others take your order and send a cheap imitation, or nothing at all. Marketplace listings carry their own risks: a seller who wants to move the conversation off the platform and take payment directly, a "courier" who suddenly demands an extra fee before release, or a buyer who overpays and asks for the difference back. Keep the transaction inside the platform, where there is at least a record and a complaints process.

Be sceptical of QR codes on posters and flyers too, unless you can see where the code leads before you enter anything.

Ten minutes spent tightening your accounts

A little preparation now saves a lot of stress later. Use long, unique passwords and let a password manager remember them. Turn on two-factor authentication wherever it is offered, and prefer an authenticator app or a hardware key over text messages. In your banking app, switch on instant transaction notifications and set spending limits or freeze options if they are available. Some banks let you create a virtual card number for one-off purchases, which is a neat way to shop with a site you are unsure about.

Keep your phone, browser and operating system updated, and avoid doing your Christmas shopping on public wi-fi — use your mobile data instead if you can. Finally, think twice before letting an unfamiliar site save your card details for "faster checkout next time".

If you think you have been caught out

Act quickly and in this order. Contact your bank straight away using the number on your card or your banking app; if you are worried about a call you have received claiming to be from your bank, dial 159 to be connected to your own bank's fraud team. Change the password on any account you used, and anywhere you reused it. Keep everything: screenshots, order numbers, emails, texts. Report the fraud to Action Fraud, or to Police Scotland if you live in Scotland. It is also worth checking your credit report for accounts or searches you do not recognise.

A two-minute checklist before you pay

1. Is the web address exactly what I expected?
2. Can I find a real address, phone number and company record?
3. Do the reviews look like they were written by people, over time?
4. Am I paying by card rather than bank transfer?
5. Has anything about this purchase been rushed?
6. Have I checked the delivery text or email against the courier's own site?
7. Has anyone asked for a one-time passcode? If so, stop.
8. Do I have a confirmation email and order number saved?

Most online shopping this Christmas will be perfectly ordinary. The trick is to give the odd bad one a moment of hesitation before your card comes out — and to know the first phone call to make if it does not.

Photo: Kindel Media / Pexels