More than $4 million has been lost to online shopping scams by Australians in 2019 so far - well in excess of the $3.8 million fleeced from unsuspecting consumers last year - and the losses are expected to mount over the busy Christmas shopping period.

German car manufacturer BMW has ordered a recall of some models in Australia, the US and Japan, after safety authorities identified a fault in the Takata airbags on these vehicles that could lead to death or serious injury.

Australian car manufacturers have warned that 20,000 vehicles already under recall for faulty Takata airbags are now classified as “critical”, with the competition watchdog issuing an alert that the cars listed as critical should not be driven.