Online shopping warning: Santander customers lost £7.3m to purchase scams

Santander has reported that purchase scam claims were up by a third in 2023 compared to 2022.

The online advertising platform Gumtree has also reported that in February and April 2023 it saw a 24% increase in the volume of overall 'for sale' listings. It expects to see similar growth in 2024.

Read on to find out what these types of scams look like and how to avoid them. 

Marketplace scams

A purchase scam is a when a product you pay for turns out to be fake or non-existent. The scammer is seeking to dupe you into handing over your personal and financial details, and the scam may result in loss of money immediately or even months later when you may be retargeted by the scammer. 

According to Santander, 80% of the purchase scams reported by its customers started on online selling platforms or marketplaces.

Gumtree removed a total of 1,177,292 listings from across its platform, and more than 42,000 of those were considered fraudulent.

Gumtree reported that the most popular listings promoted by scammers were:

smartphones

games consoles

digital cameras

headphones

dogs

collectables

guitars.

In these types of scams, the ‘seller’ will typically make up excuses as to why you can’t view the item and be pushy to make the sale. Usually, they’ll want you to pay via bank transfer or a PayPal Friends and Family transaction as these methods don’t offer protection for buyers.

After paying, you either receive nothing or a product that doesn't match the online description.

Spotting the signs of a fake listing

Fake listings can be hard to spot, but there are some telltale signs.

Here are seven tips to spot and avoid an online marketplace scam:

Too-good-to-be-true prices: prices that are outrageously good are often a sign of something dodgy going on. Do your research and if it's a bargain then it's wise to question its legitimacy. 

Be wary of a new seller, especially if they joined the site very recently. Have a look at their reviews to get a sense of whether they're a good seller.

Be wary of sellers who attempt to communicate on a different platform: scammers like to move the conversation into other messaging services.

Product descriptions that are vague or missing information, or using images that don’t look specific or unique.

The product or seller is listed in multiple locations: this is a good indication that the seller or item isn't genuine.

Always use a payment method that gives you some protection if things go wrong. PayPal offers Buyer Protection for most transactions, but not if you claim to be paying friends or family, or use a credit or debit card over bank transfer. Paying in cash gives you no protection whatsoever, so avoid using cash. 

Be suspicious if the seller is willing to deliver the item and doesn’t offer or refuses collection.

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Reporting online shopping scams

On Gumtree, there's an option to report sellers under their contact details on the product listing.

On Amazon, select the option to the ‘Report an issue with this product’ on the product page.

On eBay, you can report listings by scrolling to the ‘About this item’ section on the product listing and selecting ‘Report this item’.

You can report dodgy ads and posts on Facebook and Instagram by selecting the three dots in the top right corner of the post and pressing ‘Report.’ On Facebook Marketplace, press the three dots on the product listing post and select ‘Report listing.’

source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/online-shopping-warning-santander-customers-lost-7.3m-to-purchase-scams-avnTl0c05fgy