Manic Monday for internet shoppers

Total spending today – dubbed Manic Monday – is forecast to hit the equivalent of 22.4m an hour, according to shopping comparison website Kelkoo.

The busiest day on the High Street is expected on December 18, when 10 million consumers are predicted to make a last-minute dash for Christmas gifts at a total cost of 1.1 bn, or 764,000 per minute.

Visa Europe said the busiest online shopping day in the previous two years had fallen on the Monday closest to the start of December and it expected a total of 265m to be spent online by consumers using a Visa card, with 80 per cent of those using debit cards. It predicted transactions would peak in the lunch hour between 1pm and 2pm and again at around 7pm as people come home from work.

Amazon, the largest online retailer, kicked off its shopping frenzy early, courtesy of its US-style "black Friday" deals week event last week but was hit by complaints from frustrated consumers who struggled to snap up the "lightening deals", which were only available for a limited quantity of items for a short period of time. .

The National Fraud Authority and the City of London Police urged consumers to take extra care when purchasing popular Christmas gifts online. Detective Ch Supt Steve Head, head of the City London Police Economic Crime Directorate, said: "This is a crime that ruins Christmas.

"These victims lose a lot of money, but perhaps more upsetting is that they don't even have the gifts to give their family and friends.

"Christmas is a time of goodwill, but don't show that generosity to the fraudsters. "Do the checks and be secure."