It may be a little too late to do your festive shopping online but in any case here is a list of handy tips to ensure you don't get burnt by online scammers this Christmas. Of course, post Christmas these tips will still apply.

According to Italy's Adiconsum, Christmas presents are bought more and more in local markets, the typical foods for the Christmas dinner at discount stores or supermarkets and hypermarkets in taking advantage of promotions and special discounts. Even the purchase of precious gifts that occurs mainly offline demonstrates the changing habits of Italian consumers increasingly paying attention to value for money. 
 
In the adaptation of styles and attitudes of Italian consumers, shopping online is growing exponentially. 
 
Here is some useful information from Adiconsum on how to buy safely online:
 

• Make sure you know who the seller is
• Check what you are actually buying
• Check the price
• Verify the possible methods of payment
• Check delivery dates and costs in case of cancellation
• Verify the existence of the guarantee
• Keep receipts and other documents of purchase
• Adequately protect your personal data
• Beware to scams, if something is too good to be true is probably a scam!

In case of problems, contact the seller and report the problem also to Adiconsum (in case of cross-border shopping contact the European Consumer Center http://www.ecc-netitalia.it)

The original document (in Italian) can be found at http://docs.adiconsum.it/foto_articoli/a_1232.pdf