WEST Yorkshire Police Neighbourhood Watch is urging people to pass on advice to friends, relatives, neighbours and small business owners about an online shopping fraud.

Action Fraud has received a large number of reports from victims who have been defrauded when attempting to purchase items on online shopping and auction websites. Internet fraudsters are increasingly exploiting victims’ readiness to sign for deliveries before checking the contents.

The victim orders an item online and makes payment, in many cases using a reputable payment protection service.

A few days later, the victim or victim’s co-habitant signs for a recorded delivery, which they then find to be empty or contain an item that they did not order. When the ordered item does not arrive, the victim attempts to track their package and discovers that the package they signed for had the same tracking number as the ordered item.