The level of fraud on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is more than the number of robberies, burglaries, killings and knife crime combined
- Read more: ‘Hi mum’ scam: How fraudsters have sunk to new depths to con cash
Scams on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are the source of more than one million cases of fraud every year, shocking figures reveal.
A Money Mail investigation has found that an estimated 16 per cent of all crimes recorded by the police in 2022 originated on platforms owned by social media giant Meta – more than double the number of robberies, burglaries, homicides and knife crimes combined.
That means every day, an average of 3,000 people fall victim to a scam that can be traced back to one of these platforms.
Most lose thousands of pounds to crooks. More than £1.2billion was stolen through fraud in 2022, according to banking trade body UK Finance.
From next year, banks will be forced to refund victims who have been tricked into sending money through ‘authorised push payment’ (APP) scams, in which a fraudster typically pretends to be a genuine organisation or someone they know.
Every day, an average of 3,000 people fall victim to a scam that can be traced back to one of these platforms
At present, tech giants have no obligation to pay towards the cost of reimbursing victims who lose money after falling for scams originating on their platforms.
Official data sent to the Chancellor by UK Finance last month and seen by Money Mail shows that 61 per cent of all cases of APP fraud originate on platforms owned by Meta.
READ MORE: How social media scams claim more victims than robbery, burglary, homicide and knife crime combined
Banking industry insiders have accused the social media giants of taking no responsibility for the consequences of fraud.
David Postings, chief executive of UK Finance, which represents more than 300 financial companies, singled Meta out in his letter to the Chancellor.
He said: ‘It is clear from the data that the biggest challenges sit with Meta. APP fraud causes psychological harm, financial loss, harm to our sector’s reputation, and damage to our economy.’
A Meta spokesman said: ‘With tens of millions of people in the UK using our apps daily, we recognise the important role we must play in tackling this industry-wide issue.
‘We don’t want anyone to fall victim to these criminals which is why we have systems to block scams. We encourage anyone who spots a scam to report it.’
It comes as Money Mail today launches a campaign to tackle the social media fraud epidemic and call on tech companies to do more to protect their users.
Source: Read Full Article
