Lloyds Bank has warned all social media users of scams after data shows people are losing out on average around £570. There is a rising number of people losing out on money from online fraudsters.
Recent data shows Facebook and Instagram purchase scams are expected to cost people in the UK more than £27m this year. According to Lloyds Bank due to the popularity of online shopping and an increase in scammers it is leading to people paying for items that simply don't exist.
As reported by Liverpool Echo, Lloyds said the victims of these scams can often be lured by cheaper or hard to find items. People are asked to send money directly from their account to another account via bank transfer, which provides very little consumer protection when something goes wrong.
Poll: Best beer garden in Nottinghamshire? Have your say here
According to new data by Lloyds Banking Group more than two thirds (68%) of all purchase scams now start on Facebook, including Facebook Marketplace, and Instagram. The latest figures show someone in the UK falls victim to a shopping scam across these two platforms every seven minutes.
The bank found that clothes, trainers, gaming consoles and mobile phones are among the most common goods being falsely advertised. Across the industry the average amount being lost by the victims of purchase scams is around £570.
Speaking to Liverpool Echo Liz Ziegler, Lloyds' fraud prevention director said: "Social media has become the Wild West of online shopping in recent years, with very few checks in place to verify who is selling what. This has left consumers increasingly exposed to ruthless fraudsters, with hundreds of new victims targeted every day and tens of millions of pounds flowing to organised crime gangs each year.
“Banks have been at the forefront of tackling the epidemic of scams, but they cannot fight it alone. It’s high time tech companies stepped up to share responsibility for protecting their own customers. This means stopping scams at source and contributing to refunds when their platforms are used to defraud innocent victims.”
A spokesperson for Meta, which owns both Facebook and Instagram, 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.”
READ NEXT:
Ofgem new energy price cap to be announced - and how it will affect your bills
HMRC issues Child Benefit warning to parents and carers ahead of deadline next week
DWP confirms when £150 Cost of Living payment will land in bank accounts
Martin Lewis advises urgent check for anybody earning less than £40,000
DWP warning as thousands to have benefits stopped amid Universal Credit switch
