Millions of pounds have been lost to scammers as people are tricked into paying for goods and services that don’t exist.
TSB has issued a warning ahead of Black Friday and Christmas following research that revealed that Facebook accounted for 67% of all purchase fraud losses by volume and 59% by value.
This was followed by Instagram, which accounted for sixteen per cent of purchase fraud by volume, and almost a third (29%) by value.
Purchase fraud accounts for over half (55%) of all fraud cases at TSB, and the bank has seen social media sites driving up scam cases for consumers.
It could be posted in groups where scammers request deposits for pets that don’t exist, electronic devices such as game consoles, mobile phones and other devices. This often increases around Christmas time for the ‘must have’ gifts each year.
Another regular scam sees criminals requesting payment for courier services or insurance when buying and selling online.
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Some also use cloned websites with slight changes to the URL to trick users into thinking they’re purchasing from a genuine site.
UK Finance data shows that £42 million was lost to purchase fraud alone in the first half of 2024 – and with almost 70,000 cases over this period, that averages 375 cases every day.
TSB’s fraud team is warning consumers to be vigilant about some of the most commonly scammed items:
- Concert Tickets
- Football tickets
- Cars (specifically deposits)
- Clothes, including trainers
- Children’s toys
- Games consoles
- Services (such as building work, refits etc)
- Designer items like bags and higher value shoes
- Electrical goods like phones & laptops
- Motorbikes
Nicola Bannister, director of customer support at TSB, said: “At this time of year, we’re all shopping online more than ever – but it’s important to be wary of scams on social media platforms, as crooks are listing items that simply don’t exist.
“We’d advise sticking to reputable websites and only buying an item you’ve found on a social media platform if you can view it in person first.”
While some fraudsters trick people out of thousands of pounds, many of the scams were for less than £100 – the excess many banks charge to refund scam payments.
In two recent cases, TSB refunded £100 to a woman from Motherwell who fell foul of purchase fraud on Facebook. Upon paying £100 for a deposit, the seller demanded another £100, and a 25 per cent up-front fee for the car to be delivered. The seller was then told to visit a local garage to pick the car up – but upon arriving she was told there was no car, and that three other scam victims had also visited this location.
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In another, a male customer paid £50 through X for a ticket to a concert that was happening that evening. The seller sent him a screenshot with the ticket on as proof – and once payment was made, the customer was then blocked.
How to stay safer when shopping online
- Stick to reputable shopping sites that offer consumer protections and platforms that have payment platforms so you can pay a seller directly in a secure way.
- When using social media sites for shopping try to meet the seller in person and view the item first.
- Take your time and don’t be pressurised by a seller.
- We all like a bargain, but if it’s too good to be true then think carefully.
- Use a card to pay where possible – as card payments have the highest level of consumer protection if anything goes wrong.
