Online shoppers looking for a deal on Facebook Marketplace have been urged to be wary as over a third of listings on the site could be scams.
The fraud team at banking group TSB scrutinised a sample of posts for common items including games consoles and handbags and found 34 percent of the listings used tactics popular with purchase fraud criminals.
Suspicious behaviour included links to fake websites and refusing to allow the customer to see an item before sending over an advanced fee.
The news comes just days after Martin Lewis warned that criminals are using his likeness in fake adverts for bogus investment schemes.
The TSB team also found items advertised as ‘brand new’ which were on sale for hundreds of pounds less than their real retail price, which is often too good to be true.
Matt Hepburn, fraud spokesperson at TSB, said: “You wouldn’t shop at a supermarket if a third of the items might be stale or counterfeit – so the same should apply to Facebook Marketplace, where you could have a one in three chance of being scammed when paying online.
“Social media companies really must act on their commitments under the Government’s Online Fraud Charter by urgently clearing up their platforms – removing scam adverts is a good first test.”
The TSB investigation found an iPhone 13, listed as ‘brand new’ for just £84, more than £500 below the asking price on the Apple website.
The fraud team contacted the seller and were directed to a bogus website to make the payment.
The most commonly scammed item on the site for 2023 was vehicles and vehicle parts, making up just over a fifth of reported cases.
TSB found a 2016 Audi Q3 on sale for £6,000. The seller refused to answer any questions about the item and provided an email address instead.
The fraud team looked up the email address and found it had been reported as part of a car fraud scam on a community website in 2023.
Shoppers should also be mindful that items commonly used for fake listings include shoes and clothing, concert and festival tickets and furniture.
Santander recently introduced a new layer of protection for customers who are transferring money via mobile or online banking to purchase an item on Facebook Marketplace.
Customers will now be shown a tailored scam warning highlighting the risks of shopping via the platform when making purchases.
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