Approximately £2 million pounds in total card chargebacks have been claimed back by Lloyds customers after a reported surge in so-called dodgy websites, according to the most recent data and insights from the banking institution.
Lloyds has carefully examined and analysed reports they’ve obtained this year regarding these “dodgy” websites, with their research indicating that more than 44k customers have now made payments to these potentially fraudulent sites but then somehow managed to get their funds back after a chargeback request had been issued.
As explained in the update from UK‘s Lloyds Bank, a chargeback is a type of card payment protection which may “help shoppers get their money back when something goes wrong.”
With Black Friday now approaching, spending is expected to increase considerably (as is the case every year).
This past year, Lloyds clients had reportedly spent about £594 million on debit cards during the Black Friday weekend – “an 89.6% increase compared to the typical weekend average of £314 million.”
This year, customers are anticipated “to match that level of expenditure.”
As consumers continue to flock online to secure in-demand Christmas gifts, scammers are watching, ready to “deploy their fake websites and trick people into handing over cash to them, rather than real retailers.”
Bad actors / scammers identify the “hottest, most in-demand items.”
According to the update from Lloyds, right now, that’s Labubu dolls, Jellycat toys and high-end advent calendars – alongside ‘ever-green’ Christmas and Black Friday products, like jewellery, perfume and electronics.
They’ll set up a website, “pretending to sell these popular goods.”
The website will carry a banner “conveying urgency, like a time-limit on the sale and the goods will be heavily discounted compared to well-known shops.”
The fraudsters will then post adverts “on social media for their shady sites.”
The adverts will also use pressure-selling tactics, “encouraging people to get clicking, to avoid missing out.”
After consumers provide their payment details on the website, the items never arrive or are “cheap fakes.”
Between the start of 2025 (January to March) and the summer, (July to September) the monthly number of these rogue merchants “identified through customer disputes has doubled, rising from an average of 45, to 90.”
The actual number of these so-called rogue merchants is most likely to be even higher, according to the update from the UK banking institution.
Lloyds’ customers can request a chargeback “through the Lloyds mobile app, which makes the process quick and straightforward.”
Banking services providers are only able to request the return of funds “after a customer has raised a chargeback, so Lloyds are encouraging people to get in touch with their bank, if they’ve fallen victim to one of these dodgy websites.”
As noted in the update from Lloyds Bank, every chargeback report about these fake sellers helps Lloyds report the “sneaky sites to the legitimate payment platforms, who can remove the scammers’ ability to take payments.”