The most scammed items on Facebook Marketplace revelaed

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world

Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

More than a third of advertisements on Facebook Marketplace could be scam posts and consumers should avoid making purchases in the online shop, say TSB.

The retail banking group’s fraud team sampled 100 posts and spoke to the seller to try and ascertain if the goods being sold were genuine or part of a scam.

It found that 34 per cent of the listings were fraudulent after sellers used tactics perfected by criminals, such as directing them to fake websites, refusing to allow viewing of the item in person, and wanting payment up front.

The banking group said that these findings resonate with its own data, which shows that 73 per cent of all purchase fraud cases are from Facebook Marketplace.

According to calculations from TSB around £60 million could have been lost by customers using Facebook Marketplace in 2023 - the equivalent of £160,000 per day.

As part of their investigation they also found items were often advertised as “brand new”, despite being significantly cheaper than their normal retail price.

For example, an iPhone 13 was listed as ‘brand new’ at £84, when the actual retail price is £599. When TSB contacted the seller they were directed to a scam website to make a payment.

Matt Hepburn, a fraud spokesperson for 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.”

Meta, who own Facebook, have been approached for comment.