SHOPPERS in Cambridgeshire are being warned to be careful of online scams when browsing for festive bargains.

Today (December 6) is expected to be the UK’s busiest online shopping day with sales expected to hit �23.2m between noon and 1pm.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s financial intelligence officer Maurice Smith said: “People should be aware of the dangers of shopping online.

“Often flashy websites can look the real deal, but can actually just be a front to sell counterfeit goods or no goods at all.

“More people than ever are shopping online and at such a busy time of the year there is a high risk of people being scammed out of their hard-earned cash.”

Reports of online shopping and auction fraud have increased by 15 per cent since July this year, according to figures from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau and reporting service Action Fraud.

Mr Smith added: “These statistics indicate that more criminals are attempting to scam people online and are becoming better at it. People should be aware of this threat and be careful.

“It is always worth bearing in mind that if something looks too good to be true - it probably is.”