Last week figures published by the City of London Police have shown that women face a significantly higher chance of becoming the victims of fraud in the e-commerce marketplace, according to the Daily Mail.

This gender divide is down to the fact that cybercriminals are actively targeting female web users with the phishing attacks and other scams.

In spite of this, the report also suggests that men tend to lose more money when they are defrauded online, with an average of £2,355 stolen from them. For women this figure is lower at £809, based on analysis of 29,000 incidents of online fraud.

Roughly half of the victims covered in the stats were said to have suffered from fraud enabled by online services, with the average age range for this group being between 60 and 69.

This suggests that the age of victims is just as relevant as their gender, while also implying that older people have a tougher time carrying out safe shopping online than their younger, web-savvy counterparts.

Police spokesperson, Commander Chris Greany, said that it is currently believed that 85 per cent of e-commerce fraud can be prevented, as long as people across the UK follow the security advice given by experts.

Common tips to improve online security and avoid fraud include using only legitimate mainstream sites that offer safe shopping online, ignoring emails designed to dupe consumers and harnessing safe passwords which prevent hackers from accessing accounts.

Shoppers must also remember that keeping their computers and smartphones free from viruses is necessary to avoid cybercriminal exploitation. If an infected machine is used to shop online, then personal data can be stolen and it is much easier for fraud to be committed, making security a priority for all web users.