TSB has warned shoppers be alert for purchase fraud when shopping during the festive season.

Purchase fraud, where criminals scam people into paying for goods and services that don’t exist, accounted for 55 per cent of all fraud cases at TSB this year.

The bank said that there could be a spike in purchase fraud over the coming months as shoppers seek out deals for Black Friday and Christmas.

TSB said that according to its data, social media platforms lead to the bulk of losses from fraud.
In January this year, the bank warned that over a third of adverts on Facebook Marketplace are scams.

According to the bank, so far this year Facebook has accounted for 67 per cent of all purchase fraud losses by volume and 59 per cent of value. In 2024, Instagram has accounted for 16 per cent of purchase fraud by volume and almost a third by value.

TSB warned shoppers to be particularly vigilant when buying certain items including football tickets, children’s toys, and designer goods as these are the items most likely to result in scams.

Data from UK Finance shows that £42 million was lost to purchase fraud in the first half of 2024 with an average of 375 cases each day.

TSB also found that almost half of purchase fraud cases are worth £100 or less, with the bank warning that consumers could be left without a refund.

Under the Payment Systems Regulator’s new APP fraud rules, TSB said it has chosen not to apply a £100 excess per fraud claim due to the high level of scam victims that would be excluded from a refund.

“At this time of year, we’re all shopping online more than ever – but it’s important to be wary of scams on social media platforms, as crooks are listing items that simply don’t exist,” Nicola Bannister, director of customer support at TSB. “We’d advise sticking to reputable websites and only buying an item you’ve found on a social media platform if you can view it in person first.”

---