The country may be in the grips of a recession which has decimated the high street but it seems people are more than happy to spend their money online.

According to fraud specialists 3rd Man, online shopping is booming, with £46 billion spent between August 2008 and August 2009 and this shows no signs of slowing down.

And with many online retailers installing better fraud detection and prevention systems, the chances of criminals hijacking any purchases decrease by the day.

It means there has never been a better time to buy goods online.