- Bogus posts on Facebook are causing a dramatic surge in vehicle scams
- There could be more than 100,000 fake UK car ads on Facebook at any one point
- Victims typically lured into sending money to secure a seemingly bargain deal
More than four out of five cars advertised through Facebook’s online trading platform Marketplace are scam listings, High Street bank Santander estimates.
A bombshell report by the bank has for the first time revealed the extent to which social media giant Meta is allowing its platform to be overwhelmed by criminals selling fake vehicles.
Investigators estimate there could be more than 100,000 fake UK car adverts on Facebook at any one point, Money Mail can today reveal.
If you search for any car type on Facebook Marketplace, it is likely fraud ads will be among the top results, Santander warns.
Chris Ainsley, who is head of fraud risk management at Santander and led the research, says a team combed Facebook Marketplace earlier this month to assess the scale of fraudulent car adverts.
Within 30 minutes of running searches for different types of cars, the investigators found 25 fake seller accounts and a staggering 4,000 adverts.
That amounts to 160 cars per seller on average. One profile had 687 adverts for fake cars.
Hundreds of accounts post adverts in the UK, which indicates there could be up to 100,000 scam listings at any one time, they estimate.
A search for ‘Volvo’ on Facebook Marketplace showed just one genuine sale, and nine scam posts in the top listings.
Mr Ainsley says: ‘What we found on Facebook Marketplace is really concerning and problematic.
‘We have raised it with Meta because we want them to understand the scale of the problem — it is costing thousands of people in the UK.’
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Bogus posts on Facebook and other social media platforms are causing a dramatic surge in people being conned by vehicle scams.
The number of cases reported to Santander in the first nine months of 2023 nearly doubled compared with a year ago — soaring by 87 per cent.
Around 440 of the bank’s customers reported incidents between January and September, of which an estimated 60 per cent originated on Facebook Marketplace.
This year nearly half a million pounds (£479,964) has been reported lost to Facebook car scams among Santander customers, up 93 per cent from the same time last year. The average victim lost £1,090.
Data from TSB also shows that more than three-quarters of all vehicle-related scams start on Facebook.
Seven per cent of TSB’s customers who reported having lost money to scams say they heard about the cars on eBay. That is followed by Instagram and Gumtree.
The most scammed brands include Ford, which accounts for 18 per cent of all reported cases, Audi (12 per cent), BMW (10 per cent), Land Rover (10 per cent) and VolksWagen (8 per cent), according to TSB.
Mr Ainsley adds that Volkswagen Golfs and Mini Coopers are also among the most commonly scammed cars.
The two banks are warning that scammers are using social media to prey on shoppers looking to buy a secondhand vehicle, luring them into sending money with cut-price deals.
According to fraud expert Jack Buster, who runs Action Scam, a group which helps victims recover money, the average scam advert lists vehicles for between half and three-quarters of the market rate.
‘The biggest indicator of whether a post is real or not is the price at which it has been listed.
‘Asking prices are typically from perhaps 75 per cent of what it should be down to completely absurd reductions of maybe 25 per cent or even 10 per cent.’
‘£1,500 for a car that didn’t exist’
Ofelia Forbes fell victim to a fake car scam in September, when she desperately needed to buy a car for her work as a carer.
After months of saving, the 26-year-old, who moved to Nottingham from Jamaica just six months ago, was ready to buy a car on September 17 and promptly went online to find her new vehicle.
She found a Kia Picanto 2021 model listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace for £1,500 and contacted the seller via Messenger.
The seller, Peter, appeared friendly in his profile picture, she says.
‘He seemed like an older gentleman who you would respect.
‘There was a link to his company’s website where there were reviews from happy customers.
‘I also searched his name online and found no indication of a scam.’
Ofelia told Peter she was interested in the car and asked for it to be delivered from Manchester to her home.
She paid a £250 deposit on the car and was told delivery would be the following day.
Ofelia says: ‘We agreed that the next payment would be made when I received the car.
‘However, on the day of the delivery he called to say all was on schedule but I needed to pay £500 for the insurance and paperwork.’
Ofelia was told she would have to pay the £500 if she wanted it delivered that day and that the car wouldn’t be on the road until the money came through.
‘I didn’t understand why they needed money for insurance and asked them about it. But I needed the car so I paid it,’ she says.
But a few hours later, Peter told her the money had not arrived and there had been an issue with the first payment so I would need to send another £500.
If the first payment hit his account later, it would be deducted from the final payment she needed to make, she was told.
‘At this point I was nervous because I was paying more than half of the total without getting any confirmation the car was on its way but I paid it anyway,’ she says.
Twenty minutes later, Peter told her the money had been received, the car was on its way and would arrive at her home at 2pm.
The carer asked to see the driver’s location or some form of proof but was told the driver could not do that.
She says: ‘He just kept telling me to be patient and remain calm.’
An hour later, another message from Peter arrived — the driver needed £100 to pay for petrol as he had run out.
‘I’d never heard of this happening before so I was getting annoyed but he threatened that I wouldn’t see the car if I didn’t pay so I did,’ she says.
Ofelia was told the car was back on the road but when the car was just 15 minutes away she hit another bump in the road.
‘Peter said the driver was really close now and was naming local streets. He said I should go ahead and pay the final £150 so that when it arrived everything would happen smoothly, given how many delays there had been already. At first, Ofelia refused because she was worried it was a scam.
But when she raised her concerns, he told her they run a good business. ‘He kept giving me reasons to pay so I did. But the car didn’t arrive.
‘I was begging him, saying please don’t let this be a scam because I already explained to him I really need this car.
‘He started to laugh and said all was ok. But then when there was still no sign of the car I asked what the problem was and he just replied ‘LOL’.’
Within seconds, Ofelia was blocked by Peter and could make no contact. ‘I was in disbelief but that’s when I realised and I felt sick,’ she says.
The carer called her bank, Lloyds, and Action Fraud to report the crime. She received £500 in reimbursement from Lloyds and a further £125 following Money Mail’s intervention.
A Lloyds Bank spokesman says: ‘Keeping our customers safe from fraud is our priority and we have a great deal of sympathy for Ms Forbes. Buying a car from social media that you haven’t viewed in person is always risky.
In this case, while we did show a warning before Ms Forbes completed any payments advising her to pay by card, we have provided a partial refund.’
Hotbed for fraudsters
Facebook Marketplace has exploded in popularity in recent years. It was originally popular in local communities as you could see what someone in your area was selling.
Scams were less of an issue because buyers would only hand over the cash when the seller received the items in person.
However, items are increasingly bought from further afield and delivered by the seller. This is similar to other marketplaces such as eBay or Amazon.
A Meta spokesman says: ‘We recognise our important role in tackling the industry-wide issue of online purchase scams and have systems in place to block scams.
‘Facebook Marketplace is a local meet up and collection service so we don’t facilitate payments or shipping, but scammers exploit this by taking conversations off our platforms where we can’t enforce.
‘We encourage our community to report scams immediately so we can take action and we’ll continue equipping customers with knowledge to transact securely and avoid fraud on Marketplace.’
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Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
