Banco Santander is to stop bank transfers for Facebook Marketplace payments in cases where a customer has not seen the item in person.
The move comes as Santander customers have lost nearly £6.5 million so far this year to Facebook Marketplace scams, an increase of almost 50% over the last year.
When making a payment, customers will now be shown a tailored scam warning highlighting the risks of shopping via this platform.
Customers seeking to make a bank transfer will be asked if they have seen the item they are about to buy. Any customer answering no will not have their bank transfer authorised and will instead be advised to make further checks on the purchase, including seeing the item in person and using a more secure payment method such as PayPal, or using a debit or credit card.
Any customer who confirms they have seen a photo or video of the package, but have not viewed the item in person, will also be unable to make the bank transfer.
For those who confirm a positive sighting of the intended purchase, the payment can be processed but they will still be warned that their money may be at risk and reminded that payment sites such as PayPal may offer greater protection, as well as choosing to pay directly by credit or debit card.
Chris Ainsley, head of fraud risk management at Santander says: “Customers are losing more than ever to the criminals who carry out these scams on Facebook Marketplace and as Christmas approaches we can expect this to increase further. Building on existing measures in place to protect customers, this latest move will prompt our customers to think twice before handing over money to any potential fraudsters.”
