Should you buy items on Facebook Marketplace? TSB fraud boss says you should think twice… here’s why

A major bank has issued an urgent warning about internet scams ahead of the busy holidays.

TSB said it had seen a 35 per cent spike in online purchasing fraud, which now accounts for more than half of all scams.

The bank said that procurement fraud, where scammers trick people into paying for goods and services that do not exist, is leading to scams in the banking sector.

Banks see more than 400 cases of online purchasing fraud every day, with 77,000 cases recorded in the first six months of 2023 alone.

TSB’s research also shows that consumers lose an average of £500 per case when they fall victim to social media scams.

Facebook Marketplace is the biggest driver of online purchasing fraud and is responsible for 77 percent of scams via the platform.

Paul Davis, TSB’s director of fraud prevention, has warned people not to buy items via social media unless they have a secure payment system.

TSB has previously called on Facebook owner Meta to do more about scams on its platform.

In May, TSB called on Meta to do more to combat fraud spreading on its platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp.

This showed that fraud via Meta companies is responsible for 80 percent of fraud cases at the bank within the three main fraud categories.

This Is Money has also called on Meta to do more about the Wild West of Facebook Marketplace and Meta’s inaction.

Commenting on TSB’s latest figures, a spokesperson for Meta said: ‘With tens of millions of people using our apps every day in the UK, we recognize our important role in tackling the industry-wide problem of online purchasing scams and have systems in place to prevent this. block scams.

“Facebook Marketplace is a local meet and collect service, so we don’t facilitate payments or shipping, but scammers are taking advantage of this by taking conversations off our platforms where we can’t enforce them.

“We encourage our community to report scams immediately so we can take action, and we will continue to provide customers with the knowledge to safely transact and prevent fraud on Marketplace.”

Purchase fraud on Instagram accounts for 9 percent of cases, followed by Twitter (4 percent), Snapchat (3.5 percent) and eBay (2 percent).

TSB advises consumers to stick to trusted outlets with a secure payment platform such as eBay, Amazon, Vinted and Gumtree.

Paul Davis added: ‘At this time of year many of us are looking for bargains online.

But things can quickly go wrong when shopping on social media sites, which are full of scam ads for items that simply don’t exist.

‘During this busy shopping period, it really pays to stick to responsible shopping sites that offer payment platforms.

‘And don’t be fooled by a bargain you see on social media; if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

Source: TSB

What are the most scammed items online?

Vehicles top TSB’s list of most scammed items, accounting for 20 percent of all online purchase fraud cases with an average loss of £955.

Earlier this year, our research found that vehicle fraud on social media had exploded, including scammers specifically using VW T5 vans as bait.

Others who fall victim to purchasing fraud include people looking for tradesmen, tools and materials, losing £1,358 per case. This is 6 percent of the cases.

Tickets for events, including concerts and sporting events, are a common scam, making up 11 percent of all cases, with an average loss of £193.

It is closely followed by shoes and trainers, which make up 6 per cent of cases and see consumers lose £225.

Selling phones and gadgets is another common scam: 5 and 6 percent of scams respectively, with an average loss between €225 and €275.

TSB is also urging consumers to be wary of adverts selling pets, holiday items, cosmetics, jewelery and watches, after these categories claimed a ‘significant’ number of victims.