Shoppers beware: online scams increase ahead of Black Friday and Christmas
Purchase fraud, when you are deceived into paying for an item or service that doesn’t exist, is the largest driver of scam cases according to new TSB data.
TSB compared its customer data from January to October 2023 with the same period last year and discovered an increase in cases.
Read on to discover how to avoid and report purchase scams.
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What is purchase fraud?
Also known as online shopping scams, the banking industry's trade body UK Finance revealed there were 77,000 cases of this type of scam in the first six months of 2023 - more than 400 a day.
Purchase fraud sees criminals create fake social media listings and websites which advertise products and services - typically at super low prices - to lure you in.
Once a purchase is made, the fraudster makes off with your money or data and you don’t receive the product or the service you paid for.
Scammers exploit online marketplaces
TSB data also found that average losses were more than £500 per case, with social media platforms fueling these scams.
According to TSB, Facebook Marketplace was the biggest driver of purchase fraud with 77% of cases beginning on the platform. Instagram scams accounted for 9%, Twitter 4%, Snapchat 3.5% and eBay 2%.
The three most scammed categories* by volume and losses were recorded as:
| Category | % of cases | Average loss |
| Vehicles, parts, hire | 20% | £995 |
| Concert, event or sports tickets | 11% | £193 |
| Shoes and trainers | 8% | £174 |
- Read more: Which? reveals the most common scams of 2023.
Avoiding purchase fraud
Be extra cautious of any outrageously good deals. Our guide to the best Black Friday deals only features products we've rigorously tested and we consider to be good value. We don't promote deals on duds.
Some additional steps you can take to avoid falling for fake products or services are:
- Avoiding super low, too good to be true prices.
- Browsing the website to check for scam signs, such as poor spelling, blurred images and no contact information.
- Being wary of social media adverts.
- Double checking the domain name of websites using tools like who.is - brands typically only have one official website.
- Never paying via bank transfer as it’ll be harder to be reimbursed if you are scammed.
Reporting purchase fraud
You can report scam Facebook pages, profiles and posts by selecting the three dots on the right and pressing ‘report’.
To report scam posts on Twitter, select the three dots on the post and press ‘report post’. On Instagram, tap at the bottom of the photo or video you'd like to report and then select ‘report inappropriate.’ On Tiktok, press and hold the video and select ‘report.’ Dodgy websites can be reported to the National Cyber Security Centre.
If you are scammed, call your bank immediately using the number on the back of your card. You can also report scams to Action Fraud or call the police on 101 if you’re in Scotland.
*According to TSB customer data comparing Jan - Oct 2022 to Jan - Oct 2023
