Distracted shoppers easy patsies for attentive scammers

Risky shopping practices are leaving Australians vulnerable to scammers during the holiday period.

Almost three-in-four Australians admitted to shopping while distracted, increasing their risk of falling victim to fraud, research by online payments platform PayPal has revealed.

The figures make for concerning reading, with the Australian Signals Directorate listing online shopping scams as the second-most prevalent type of fraud in the nation.

While it's tempting to multitask during the busy festive season, it's important Australians stay vigilant and ensure they are buying from legitimate retailers, says PayPal Australia consumer shopping expert Bonnie Brady.

"One of the biggest risks of online shopping is encountering fake online stores, set up by fraudsters to steal money or personal information," she said.

"In this day of AI, these fake retail sites can look very convincing."

The survey of 1022 consumers showed risky shopping practices were up nine per cent on the previous year.

More than two-in-five Australians admitted to shopping online while watching TV or streaming video and 35 per cent shopped while on the job.

One in 10 respondents reported making a purchase through a fraudulent website, highlighting the risks of "Netflix and click".

Ms Brady urged shoppers to avoid links sent by unfamiliar sources, look out for impostors posing as recognisable brands, avoid sharing sensitive information such as passwords, and to stick to secure websites that have URLs starting with "https" and the closed padlock symbol.

The warnings follow swarms of shoppers spending an estimated $1.3 billion on Boxing Day sales, with another $2.4 billion of purchases expected over the remaining days of December.

Bargain-savvy consumers are increasingly targeting discount periods for good deals as cost-of-living pressures eat away at household budgets.

But many Australians could still be missing out on thousands of dollars in unused health benefits.

With most private health insurers resetting benefit limits on January 1, 86 per cent of Australians are set to miss out on unused extras, insurance comparison site iSelect found in a survey.

It urged policyholders to check their claims histories in case they had spare extras to squeeze in a dental check-up, physio appointment or massage before New Year's Eve.

"Many Aussie families could potentially be missing out on hundreds or thousands of dollars a year in unused extras benefits," iSelect general manager Andres Gutierrez said.