Our website doesn't support your browser so please upgrade.

  • Skip page header and navigation
  • Personal
  • Private
  • Business
  • Corporate
  • Language English
  • Register 
  • Back to my accounts 
  • Log on Log off
HSBC UK
  • Banking Accounts & services

    Current accounts

    • Premier Account
    • Bank Account
    • Advance Account
    • Student Account
    • International Student Account
    • Children's Account
    • Private Banking Account
    • Business accounts
    • See all current accounts

    Savings accounts

    • Fixed Rate Cash ISA
    • Online Bonus Saver
    • Regular Savings Account
    • Loyalty Cash ISA
    • Fixed Rate Savings Account
    • Children’s Savings Account
    • Easy access savings accounts
    • Compare savings accounts
    • See all savings accounts

    International services

    • Global Money Account
    • Using your card outside the UK
    • Travel Money
    • International payments
    • Currency Account
    • Opening an account outside the UK
    • Open a UK account
    • See all international services

    Already banking with us?

    • Existing customers
    • Money worries
    • Manage your account
    • Mobile banking
    • Online banking
    • Overdrafts
    • Overdraft calculator
    • Overdraft repayment calculator
  • Borrowing Short & long-term

    Credit cards

    • Balance transfer credit cards
    • Purchase cards
    • Rewards cards
    • Credit building cards
    • Premier cards
    • Ways to borrow
    • Credit card eligibility checker
    • See all credit cards

    Loans

    • Personal Loan
    • Premier Loan
    • Car Loan
    • Home Improvement Loan
    • Top up your loan
    • Ways to borrow
    • Debt Consolidation Loan
    • HSBC Flexipay
    • See all loans

    Mortgages

    • Switch your mortgage rate
    • Remortgage to HSBC
    • First-time buyers
    • Get a decision in principle
    • Moving home
    • Mortgage rates
    • Mortgage calculators
    • Continue my application

    Already borrowing with us?

    • Mortgage charter
    • Manage your existing mortgage
    • Money worries
    • Mortgage payment support
    • Manage your credit card
    • Credit card fees and rates
    • Base rate information
    • Credit card repayment calculator
  • Investing Products & planning

    Investing

    • New to investing?
    • Stocks & shares ISA
    • Invest in funds
    • Invest in shares
    • See all investments

    Advice

    • Financial advice
    • Premier investment management
    • Protection advice

    Retirement

    • Retirement calculator
    • Investing for retirement

    Wealth planning

    • Wealth Insights
    • Future Planner
    • Investment goals
    • Your financial action plan
    • Investment calculator
    • Children's education calculator

    Already investing with us?

    • Manage your investments
    • How to use investment goals
    • How to use our Global Investment Centre
    • How to use InvestDirect
    • Onshore Investment Bond
    • Child Trust Fund
    • Manage your Flexible Retirement Account
  • Insurance Property & family

    Insurance

    • Home Insurance
    • Contents Insurance
    • Travel Insurance
    • Small Business Insurance
    • See all insurance

    Life

    • Life Cover
    • Critical Illness Cover
    • Income Protection Insurance
    • Protection advice
    • See all life insurance

    Claims

    • Home Insurance claims
    • Life Insurance claims
    • Travel Insurance claims
    • Aspects Insurance claims
    • Premier Travel Insurance claims

    Already insured by us?

    • Home Insurance support
    • Life Insurance support
    • Premier Travel support
    • Aspects Insurance support
  • Wellbeing Financial health & support

    Financial fitness

    • Financial health tools & webinars
    • Everyday budgeting
    • Managing debt
    • Growing your money
    • Staying safe and secure
    • Learning about money

    New beginnings

    • Expanding your family
    • Getting married
    • Planning for retirement
    • Buying your first home
    • Moving abroad
    • Going to uni

    Life events

    • Bereavement support
    • Assisting someone with their money
    • Separation
    • Losing your job
    • Power of Attorney
    • Mental health and support
    • Tell us your support needs

    Money worries

    • How we can help
    • Mortgage payment support
    • Financial and domestic abuse
    • Managing your finances
    • Rising cost of living
    • Support for gambling
  • Help Service & security

    Managing your account

    • Rising cost of living
    • Ways to bank
    • Card support
    • Making payments
    • Set up or cancel a Direct Debit
    • Set up or cancel a standing order
    • Query a transaction

    Fraud and security

    • Fraud guide
    • Received a text?
    • HSBC Safeguard
    • Secure Key
    • Our Digital Security Promise
    • Verify your ID online

    Digital banking

    • Register for digital banking
    • Mobile banking
    • Online banking
    • Banking at home
    • Mobile cheque deposit
    • Reset your log on details
    • Mobile money management

    Help

    • Customer support
    • Service status
    • Money worries
    • Feedback and complaints
    • Digital banking help tool
    • Bank of England base rate
    • Accessibility and disability
    • Sustainability
  • Banking Accounts & services

    Current accounts

    • Premier Account
    • Bank Account
    • Advance Account
    • Student Account
    • International Student Account
    • Children's Account
    • Private Banking Account
    • Business accounts
    • See all current accounts

    Savings accounts

    • Fixed Rate Cash ISA
    • Online Bonus Saver
    • Regular Savings Account
    • Loyalty Cash ISA
    • Fixed Rate Savings Account
    • Children’s Savings Account
    • Easy access savings accounts
    • Compare savings accounts
    • See all savings accounts

    International services

    • Global Money Account
    • Using your card outside the UK
    • Travel Money
    • International payments
    • Currency Account
    • Opening an account outside the UK
    • Open a UK account
    • See all international services

    Already banking with us?

    • Existing customers
    • Money worries
    • Manage your account
    • Mobile banking
    • Online banking
    • Overdrafts
    • Overdraft calculator
    • Overdraft repayment calculator
  • Borrowing Short & long-term

    Credit cards

    • Balance transfer credit cards
    • Purchase cards
    • Rewards cards
    • Credit building cards
    • Premier cards
    • Ways to borrow
    • Credit card eligibility checker
    • See all credit cards

    Loans

    • Personal Loan
    • Premier Loan
    • Car Loan
    • Home Improvement Loan
    • Top up your loan
    • Ways to borrow
    • Debt Consolidation Loan
    • HSBC Flexipay
    • See all loans

    Mortgages

    • Switch your mortgage rate
    • Remortgage to HSBC
    • First-time buyers
    • Get a decision in principle
    • Moving home
    • Mortgage rates
    • Mortgage calculators
    • Continue my application

    Already borrowing with us?

    • Mortgage charter
    • Manage your existing mortgage
    • Money worries
    • Mortgage payment support
    • Manage your credit card
    • Credit card fees and rates
    • Base rate information
    • Credit card repayment calculator
  • Investing Products & planning

    Investing

    • New to investing?
    • Stocks & shares ISA
    • Invest in funds
    • Invest in shares
    • See all investments

    Advice

    • Financial advice
    • Premier investment management
    • Protection advice

    Retirement

    • Retirement calculator
    • Investing for retirement

    Wealth planning

    • Wealth Insights
    • Future Planner
    • Investment goals
    • Your financial action plan
    • Investment calculator
    • Children's education calculator

    Already investing with us?

    • Manage your investments
    • How to use investment goals
    • How to use our Global Investment Centre
    • How to use InvestDirect
    • Onshore Investment Bond
    • Child Trust Fund
    • Manage your Flexible Retirement Account
  • Insurance Property & family

    Insurance

    • Home Insurance
    • Contents Insurance
    • Travel Insurance
    • Small Business Insurance
    • See all insurance

    Life

    • Life Cover
    • Critical Illness Cover
    • Income Protection Insurance
    • Protection advice
    • See all life insurance

    Claims

    • Home Insurance claims
    • Life Insurance claims
    • Travel Insurance claims
    • Aspects Insurance claims
    • Premier Travel Insurance claims

    Already insured by us?

    • Home Insurance support
    • Life Insurance support
    • Premier Travel support
    • Aspects Insurance support
  • Wellbeing Financial health & support

    Financial fitness

    • Financial health tools & webinars
    • Everyday budgeting
    • Managing debt
    • Growing your money
    • Staying safe and secure
    • Learning about money

    New beginnings

    • Expanding your family
    • Getting married
    • Planning for retirement
    • Buying your first home
    • Moving abroad
    • Going to uni

    Life events

    • Bereavement support
    • Assisting someone with their money
    • Separation
    • Losing your job
    • Power of Attorney
    • Mental health and support
    • Tell us your support needs

    Money worries

    • How we can help
    • Mortgage payment support
    • Financial and domestic abuse
    • Managing your finances
    • Rising cost of living
    • Support for gambling
  • Help Service & security

    Managing your account

    • Rising cost of living
    • Ways to bank
    • Card support
    • Making payments
    • Set up or cancel a Direct Debit
    • Set up or cancel a standing order
    • Query a transaction

    Fraud and security

    • Fraud guide
    • Received a text?
    • HSBC Safeguard
    • Secure Key
    • Our Digital Security Promise
    • Verify your ID online

    Digital banking

    • Register for digital banking
    • Mobile banking
    • Online banking
    • Banking at home
    • Mobile cheque deposit
    • Reset your log on details
    • Mobile money management

    Help

    • Customer support
    • Service status
    • Money worries
    • Feedback and complaints
    • Digital banking help tool
    • Bank of England base rate
    • Accessibility and disability
    • Sustainability
  • Language English
  • About HSBC
  • Help & support

    Contact HSBC Got a question? We're here to help you 
  • Branch finder

    Find your nearest branch 
  • Our service performance

    View our service status to see how we're doing 
  • About HSBC

    Careers, media, investor and corporate information 
  • Legal
  • Privacy notice
  • Cookie notice
  • Accessibility
  • Stopping modern slavery

Language

  • Selected English
  • Register
  • Back to my accounts
  • Private
  • Business
  • Corporate
HSBC UK
Log on Log off
Top of main content
  1. HSBC UK 
  2. Help 
  3. Fraud and security centre 
  4. How to shop safely at Christmas

How to shop safely for Christmas

It’s important to guard against scams when shopping online for Christmas.

As the cost of living remains high, we’re all eager to grab a bargain. 

But do take care. Whether you’re new to online shopping or have been doing it for years, here are some tips to help you stay safe over the festive season.

How to shop safely online

While most retailers are trustworthy, it's all too easy to fall victim to scams. Fraudsters can set up fake websites impersonating genuine retailers.

Here are some ways to help keep yourself safe when shopping online, no matter what you’re buying:

  • Use safe sites when shopping and avoid clicking on links by visiting the website directly
  • Research the retailer online to make sure they’re legitimate
  • Research the item you want to buy and be vigilant when using social media or other online marketplaces
  • Check the returns policy and that the company has contact information
  • Make sure your device’s operating system is up to date
  • Make sure your connection is secure, look for a padlock icon in the search bar
  • Avoid shopping on public unsecured WiFi
  • Create strong passwords and use a different one for each website that asks for your personal or financial information
  • Avoid giving out personal information
  • Never share security details or one-time passwords, no matter who asks for them
  • Take extra care if a deal seems too good to be true, especially if you’re being encouraged to buy quickly before a deal expires

How to pay safely when shopping online

Different websites will offer different ways to pay. Think about which payment method works best for you.

Paying by debit card

Using a debit card to buy things may be useful if you’re working to a budget. You’ll be spending money directly from your current account – meaning you won’t be charged interest, as long as you’re not using your overdraft.

However, if you’re using a debit card, you may not be protected in the same way you are when using a credit card. 

Paying by credit card

Paying by credit card can offer more protection on what you buy. If the item you’re buying costs between £100 and £30,000 and you’re paying by credit card, even partially, it may be protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

If you’re using a credit card for your Christmas shopping, the key thing is to keep track of how much you’re spending and plan how and when you’ll pay it off.

Avoid the temptation to overspend on a credit card, as it could leave you in debt. You may be charged interest if you can't pay it off in full each month.

Explore: How to avoid credit card charges.

Using a third party payment service

If you’re using a third party such as PayPal, make sure you’ve read the terms and conditions to see what protection you have for what you’re buying.

Some, like PayPal, Klarna, Clearpay and Laybuy, also offer ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) schemes. These allow you to spread the cost of what you’re buying over a set number of instalments, which are often interest-free.

Remember, BNPL is a form of borrowing that you’ll need to pay back, so it’s important you can afford the repayments. You could be charged for late or missed payments, which can harm your credit score.

Paying by bank transfer

If a seller asks you to pay for something by bank transfer, this may be a scam. You should be very suspicious and consider paying in a different way. 

If you’re with HSBC and you’ve given your security details to someone, call our security team on 03456 002 290. 

Stop, challenge, protect

If you're contacted out of the blue by phone, email, or text:

Stop

Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.

Challenge

Could it be fake? It's OK to reject, refuse, or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or make you panic.

Protect

Check with someone you trust, such as a friend or family member, and contact the company directly.

You can get more advice on how to guard against fraud from the government-backed national campaign Take Five Take Five This link will open in a new window.

Back to top  Back to top of the page

What next?

How to create a Christmas budget 

Share

  • facebook This link will open in a new window
  • twitter This link will open in a new window
  • pinterest This link will open in a new window
  • linkedin This link will open in a new window
  • email

Explore more

  • How to avoid being tricked by scams 

  • What is an authorised push payment scam? 

  • Is digital banking secure? 

  • Help & support

    Contact HSBC Got a question? We're here to help you 
  • Branch finder

    Find your nearest branch 
  • Our service performance

    View our service status to see how we're doing 
  • About HSBC

    Careers, media, investor and corporate information 
  • Legal
  • Privacy notice
  • Cookie notice
  • Accessibility
  • Stopping modern slavery

HSBC GroupHSBC Group This link will open in a new window | © Copyright HSBC Group 2002-2025. All rights reserved

This website is designed for use in the United Kingdom.

Cookies on this website

We use cookies to help keep our website and services working properly. These cookies are necessary and are set automatically.

We'd also like to use some optional cookies that:

  • Make your visit more personal
  • Improve our website based on how you use it
  • Support our marketing

You can either 'Accept' or 'Decline' these cookies or choose what cookies to accept in 'Manage cookies'.

To learn more about how we use cookies, visit our Cookie Notice.