Risky online shopping behaviours are likely to be exercised by Kiwis this holiday season.

A new study from Norton has found that 3 in 4 New Zealanders (77%) say they are likely to take actions this holiday season to help cut costs due to the rising cost of living, with some (8%) even willing to click on a questionable link to save money.

The research was conducted online in August 2022 among 1,001 New Zealand adults by The Harris Poll.

It found that nearly a quarter of New Zealanders (22%) surveyed said they tend to take more risks when online shopping during the holiday season than other times of the year. This can include risky behaviours like buying from an unknown seller and clicking on unsafe online ads.

In this climate of increased risk, a quarter of those surveyed (28%) reported that they had already been the victim of a scam during previous holiday seasons, losing on average NZD$509.

The results also show that while people are aware of the risks online, nearly a quarter of New Zealand adults (24%) surveyed have made a holiday season purchase by clicking on questionable ads on social media, putting themselves at risk of fraud. 

30% also said that they would probably spend more than three hours searching online, and some (13%) would go a step further by risking their personal or online safety by sharing personal information.

On top of this, three-quarters (75%) of New Zealand adults surveyed admitted they were concerned their personal details would be compromised when shopping online, and 55% are still worried they will be scammed by a third-party retailer.

Other notable statistics revealed that 49% of respondents were concerned that a device they would receive as a gift could be hacked, and 47% were concerned their holiday travel arrangements or accommodations were at risk of being ruined by a scammer.

Furthermore, nearly 2 in 5 Kiwi adults surveyed (38%) admit to risking their personal information or privacy in one of the following ways during the holiday season.

Mark Gorrie, Norton Managing Director APJ, NortonLifeLock, says the holiday season comes with increased risk as it is one of the most appealing times for scammers.

“New Zealand’s inflation rate is understandably tough on wallets and we expect that will make this Christmas season particularly appealing to scammers,” he says.

“Kiwis need to remain vigilant and be really careful to protect themselves when shopping this holiday, as cybercriminals will leverage ‘too good to be true’ deals to steal credit card details and other private information.”