In the run up to Christmas more people than ever are likely to turn to the internet to help complete their shopping for presents.

The internet is a fantastic resource for people searching for gifts but it also presents opportunities for fraudsters to set up scams.

Every year there is a spike in financial loss as a result of cyber crime around the festive period due to an increase in people shopping online.

Between November 2014 and February 2015, there were 225 reports of online shopping and auction fraud in the West Mercia Police force area, resulting in a loss of £496,052, according to figures from National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB).

West Mercia Police do not want to put people off using the internet to buy their gifts - if used safely it is an excellent resource - but they want people to take some simple but effective steps to help protect themselves against falling victim to online crime.

#Be Cyber Smart is a campaign to raise awareness of internet-related crime and there is some very useful advice.

There is more advice in this weeks Ross Gazette