Meta has been urged to take action to protect customers from fraud, after TSB said scams via the social media company’s platforms Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram have soared.
The UK bank said there had been a huge jump in the number of scams originating from Meta-owned sites and apps, releasing research that shows they now account for 80% of cases within TSB’s three largest fraud categories: impersonation, purchase and investment.
Its findings follow the announcement on Tuesday of a government crackdown on scammers in response to the massive growth of web-based fraud, including a ban on technology that allows mass texting of numerous phones.
Paul Davis, the director of fraud prevention at TSB, said: “Social media companies must urgently clean up their platforms to protect the countless innocent people who use their services every day.
“In the meantime, we are urging the public to remain cautious to potential scam content – and to spread the word to help protect those around you.
“It’s high time that social media and telephone companies took financial liability for the rising levels of fraud taking place on their platforms.”
Impersonation scams originating on Meta’s platforms accounted for 86% of cases in that category recorded by TSB between 2021 and 2022, with two-thirds of those incidents coming from WhatsApp.
“Family and friends” fraud cases via the mobile messaging platform rocketed by 300% in a year, according to TSB analysis of its fraud data, and the bank refunded more than 550 victims.
The scam involves a con artist posing as a friend or relative of the victim. They get in touch via WhatsApp or another messaging platform and gain the target’s trust before asking for money.
TSB warned consumers to be vigilant to any unexpected messages purporting to be from family or friends, and advised contacting the individual directly before sending a payment.
Meanwhile, the bank found that 80% of purchase fraud cases – where someone is tricked into buying a product or service that does not exist – began via Meta’s platforms. Most of these originated through Facebook Marketplace, where incidents of fraud almost doubled in one year. TSB refunded 2,100 cases from this platform under the bank’s fraud refund guarantee.
The research also found that scams taking place through Meta account for almost 87% of all investment fraud cases at TSB, and they predominantly begin on Instagram and Facebook. TSB fraud experts urged consumers to stick to recognised investment platforms and to avoid social media “get rich quick” schemes.
A Meta spokesperson said: “This is an industry-wide issue and scammers are using increasingly sophisticated methods to defraud people in a range of ways including email, SMS and offline.
“We don’t want anyone to fall victim to these criminals which is why our platforms have systems to block scams, financial services advertisers now have to be FCA authorised and we run consumer awareness campaigns on how to spot fraudulent behaviour.
“People can also report this content in a few simple clicks and we work with the police to support their investigations.”
