Banks have issued a warning about a sharp rise in fraud in 2022, much of it coming from online sources. 77% of frauds now take place on dating apps, online markets, and social media., Barclays reported.
According to TSB, the major causes of this were an enormous rise in impersonation, investment, and purchase fraud instances. It was discovered that fraudulent listings on Facebook Marketplace had doubled, while impersonation frauds on WhatsApp had increased thrice in a year.
Additionally, it claimed that there had been "huge fraud spikes" on Meta-owned platforms including Facebook and WhatsApp. Fraud, according to a spokesperson for Meta, is "an industry-wide issue," the BBC reported.
"Scammers are using increasingly sophisticated methods to defraud people in a range of ways, including email, SMS, and offline," the company stated. "We don't want anyone to fall victim to these criminals, which is why our platforms have systems to block scams, financial services advertisers now have to be FCA (Financial Conduct Authority)-authorised and we run consumer awareness campaigns on how to spot fraudulent behaviour."
"Epidemic of scams"
Banks are dealing with an "epidemic of scams," according to Liz Ziegler, director of fraud protection for Lloyds Banking Group.
"With more than 70% of fraud starting with contact through the main tech platforms, these companies must be held responsible for stopping scams at source and putting things right for innocent victims," she explained.
Three million people in the UK would become victims of fraud in 2022, NatWest CEO Alison Rose previously warned a Treasury Select Committee.
She stated, "we have seen an 87% increase in fraud," noting that NatWest believed that 60% of frauds started on social media and other internet platforms.
Meanwhile, TSB stated 60% of purchase fraud cases of which it is aware - where a fraudster offers an item they never intend to send to the customer - occurs on Facebook Marketplace, and two-thirds of impersonation fraud cases it sees are happening on WhatsApp,
The bank claims that 2,650 refunds covering these incidents were given out last year.
According to Paul Davis, TSB's director of fraud prevention, social media companies "must urgently clean up their platforms" to safeguard users.
Returned funds
56% of the total money was lost to scammers in the first half of 2022, according to the most recent data from UK Finance, which represents the banking and finance industry.
The Contingent Reimbursement Model Code, which intends to pay consumers if they fall victim to an Authorised Push Payment (APP) scam "and have acted appropriately," has been endorsed by many institutions, including NatWest, Lloyds, and Barclays.
A consumer may be duped into sending money to a fraudulent account through an APP scam.
However, TSB asserts that it reimburses victims in 97% of the fraud incidents it observes and is urging other organisations to do the same.
