Online retail: Many consumers fall for fake online shops

Fake online shops regularly lure consumers into a trap: One in four (24 percent) in Germany has already fallen victim to online fraud, according to a survey of 1,000 adults commissioned by Schufa in February. The same number (25 percent) know someone in their circle who has experienced this before.

The damage is often considerable: six out of ten fraud victims (61 percent) reported suffering financial damage - for example, because they were not supplied with goods or because the goods were of inferior quality.

Other scams that criminals often use successfully include scamming, which is the act of misrepresenting facts in order to entice a victim to transfer money.

Identity fraud: Criminals use other people’s personal data without authorization to enrich themselves.

Subscription traps: Users are lured into long-term contracts, the costs of which often only become apparent later. In one-third of all online fraud cases (34 percent), the damage was between 100 and 1,000 euros; just over one in four (28 percent) suffered damage between 1,000 and 10,000 euros. In four percent of cases, the damage was more than 10,000 euros. According to the victims, sensitive data such as passwords (16 percent), bank or credit card information (17 percent), and personal data such as address and date of birth (19 percent) also fell into the hands of criminals. To protect themselves from cybercrime, consumers primarily rely on the most secure passwords possible (58 percent). A good third (35 percent) of those who have already fallen victim to online fraud reported changing their login details afterward.