A survey carried out by the company revealed that 27 per cent of people are not sure how to check whether the website they are using is secure, while 57 per cent fail to check that a website has the secure ‘https’ web address type.

Common mistakes, according to Barclaycard, include using credit card details on public computers, which exposed 14 per cent of shoppers to fraud.

Moreover, while many customers clearly choose to shop online for convenience, Barclaycard expressed concern that 40 per cent would be too rushed to suspend a purchase if concerned about a site’s security.

Last week, research from UK payments association Apacs found over 26.4 million people in the UK now shop online with an estimated 372 million transactions made last year.

Online fraud losses rose by 55 per cent, from £14.5 million in the first six months of 2005 to £22.5 million in the same period for 2006, Apacs said.

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