A survey has revealed that the number of people shunning internet shopping over security fears is growing, despite efforts by banks and retailers to shore up public confidence.

A study of 200 retailers and 1,000 consumers conducted by online payment company CyberSource UK, revealed that 50% of people refuse to shop online, with 41% of those surveyed citing concerns about fraud and identity theft.

The Metropolitan Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) has taken down more than a thousand retail scam websites with the help of domain name firm Nominet.

As part of ‘Operation Papworth’, the PCeU took down 1,219 websites set up by criminal networks claiming that they were selling designer gear.

Thousands of work computers infected with trojans could be a ticking timebomb, according to security researchers.

The RSA Conference in London this week highlighted how criminals had already targeted computers in business networks, thanks to laptops and desktops with trojan infections like Sinowal and Zeus.

Google has confirmed that GMail customers have been hit by phishing attacks, just a day after 10,000 Hotmail accounts were exposed by a similar method. The details of 20,000 GMail, Yahoo and AOL email accounts, including usernames and passwords, have been posted on the net. Google has confirmed the details are genuine, and claims it is taking action to protect affected accounts.