Photo via Evening Standard

Scam fears causing one in three UK consumers to abandon online purchases – study

Read the original at Evening Standard ↗
Cite

Clarke, J. (2026, September 20). Scam fears causing one in three UK consumers to abandon online purchases – study. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/fears-b1297712.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-20 · by Josie Clarke

Quick Summary

A study by the Institute of Customer Service reveals that 31% of UK consumers abandon online purchases due to concerns about website authenticity. The survey also found that nearly half (49%) of those contacted by scammers received phone calls from individuals pretending to represent a company they use, and 58% reported contact from scammers in the past year. Chief executive Jo Causon highlights the growing sophistication of scams and their impact on consumer trust and business growth, emphasizing the need for better security measures without compromising ease of use.
Written by AI on 2026-09-21, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

One in three UK consumers has abandoned at least one online purchase due to concerns about website authenticity, according to a study by the Institute of Customer Service. This trend highlights the increasing complexity and prevalence of scams. Over half of UK consumers (58%) reported being contacted by scammers impersonating legitimate companies within the past year, with fake text messages (53%) and fraudulent phone calls (49%) being the most common methods used.

The study also revealed that 32% of consumers feel scams have become more difficult to identify recently. To enhance security measures, two-factor authentication and answering security questions were cited as the most effective by shoppers for boosting confidence in online transactions. The Institute's chief executive Jo Causon emphasized that addressing these issues is crucial to maintaining consumer trust, warning that failing to do so could undermine customer engagement and limit business growth potential.

Written for “Online Purchase Scams UK” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Online Purchase Scams UK
Economy/Business · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8256 article(s) · 73 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 73 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Josie Clarke
38 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Cornwall Insight, which provides widely respected energy price forecasts, warned the savings would be “small” in relation to recent bill rises, but said it could also give the transition to heat pumps a boost. Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, said: “Scrapping the gas standing charge from as early as 2027 is a broadly progressive move that may help lower-income households who tend to use less energy.
🔮 The Debt Relief Scheme will provide targeted support to households “in genuine financial need” to clear debt and arrears built up during the energy crisis between 2022 and 2024, totalling £2.47 billion, the regulator said.
🔮 A £100 payment to help 20 million households with energy bills will “barely dent” the rise predicted for January, campaigners have warned.
🔮 Cornwall Insight, which provides widely respected energy price forecasts, warned the savings would be “small” in relation to recent bill rises, but said it could also give the transition to heat pumps a boost. Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, said: “Scrapping the gas standing charge from as early as 2027 is a broadly progressive move that may help lower-income households who tend to use less energy.
🔮 Ofgem’s energy price cap rose by 3.6% to £1,723 for a typical household on October 1, and forecasters are currently predicting a further rise of around 22% in January.
🔮 In the case of these two options, shoppers could save £423.40 a year and get a higher dose of magnesium by switching from gummies to tablets, the consumer group said.
🔮 “With the festive period now falling within the three-month window, there were significant rises in spending expectations, though concerns around inflation may also be contributing to this.”
2026-10-21 · assertive framing · Consumer confidence tumbles ahead of Budget
🔮 Ofgem’s energy price cap rose by 3.6% to £1,723 for a typical household on October 1, and forecasters are currently predicting a further rise of around 22% in January.
🔮 1.7 million households will not turn heating on this winter, survey suggests
🔮 A 4% hike to Ofgem’s energy price cap took effect from October 1 as forecasters warned household bills could soar by almost another £300 from January. Campaigners have urged the Government to make plans now to support all households with energy costs this winter because of the severity of forecast bill hikes. Cornwall Insight’s latest forecast predicts the price cap will rise by a further 16% to £1,999 a year on January 1, up by £276 on the level between October and December and the biggest rise since January 2023. The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has urged ministers to prepare an “emergency heat tariff” to cap the cost of heating this winter, with gas prices already rising 27% year on year. A poll for Uswitch suggests some 1.7 million households will not turn on their heating this winter amid fears of soaring bills and efforts to save money.
Also by Josie Clarke
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 38 articles by Josie Clarke →

Topics

Institute of Customer Service the Institute of Customer Service

Subjects

Causon PERSON · 1× Institute of Customer Service ORG · 1× Jo Causon PERSON · 1× the Institute of Customer Service ORG · 1×

Narrative

Shoppers said two-factor authentication and security questions were the measures that gave them the greatest confidence when interacting with companies. Institute of Customer Service chief executive Jo Causon said: “The level of sophistication on the scammers’ side is now a real problem, both for consumers and for the organisations trying to deliver a genuine customer experience. “
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-21
🔮 “Left unaddressed, this could fundamentally undermine trust in organisations and reduce customers’ willingness to buy, or share information to help with personalisation, limiting the ability of UK businesses to engage and grow.”

Claims (17 extracted, 1 hedged)

Some 31% of consumers have stopped at least one online purchase because they were concerned that a website was not genuine, the Institute of Customer Service found. asserted
Institute → stop → Service
The figures showed the scale of the challenge as scams become more sophisticated, the organisation said. asserted
organisation → show → challenge
Almost a third of customers (30%) believe companies should pay compensation to those scammed by a third party pretending to represent the firm. asserted
companies → believe → firm
More than half of UK consumers (58%) said they had been contacted by a scammer pretending to be from a real company in the past year, compared with 34% who said they had not. asserted
they → say → %
Fake text messages were the most common scam, received by 53% of consumers contacted by a fraudster, followed by phone calls from someone pretending to represent a company they use (49%). asserted
they → receive → company
The survey found that 32% of consumers believe scams have become harder to spot over the past 12 months. asserted
scams → find → months
Meanwhile, 84% of consumers said they feel safer using brands they trust. asserted
they → say → brands
Shoppers said two-factor authentication and security questions were the measures that gave them the greatest confidence when interacting with companies. Institute of Customer Service chief executive Jo Causon said: “The level of sophistication on the scammers’ side is now a real problem, both for consumers and for the organisations trying to deliver a genuine customer experience. “ asserted
level → say → experience
More and more trusted brands are being targeted, and cyber breaches mean there is more personal data in circulation than ever before.” asserted
breaches → target → circulation
Read More She added: “Scams, and the fear of scams, are now prevalent enough in the public consciousness to be having a genuine impact on business. asserted
Scams → read → business
“Left unaddressed, this could fundamentally undermine trust in organisations and reduce customers’ willingness to buy, or share information to help with personalisation, limiting the ability of UK businesses to engage and grow.” uncertain
this → leave → businesses
However, the survey revealed a “complex balance” between security and ease of use, with 35% of consumers saying they would be willing to sacrifice ease of dealing with companies for increased security while 32% would accept a reduction in security to keep a frictionless customer experience. asserted
% → reveal → experience
A further 32% were not prepared to sacrifice any security, while still expecting companies to be easy to deal with. asserted
companies → sacrifice → security
Ms Causon said: “Most of us are juggling busy lives and we want ease and efficiency, but the days of a completely frictionless buying experience are over. asserted
days → say → experience
“My advice to organisations is not to sacrifice protection for speed: make any necessary security measures as simple as possible, communicate clearly, educate customers and lean in to support them when something does go wrong. asserted
something → sacrifice → them
“Brands that face into this will restore confidence and build trust, and customers need that to feel safe spending their hard-earned cash, sharing their data and recommending others. asserted
customers → face → others
“As consumers, we have a responsibility too, and that starts with the basics: don’t reuse passwords, make use of passkeys and two-factor authentication, and call businesses back on a number you know to be genuine.” asserted
you → have → number
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support