FACEBOOK has been called the ‘Wild West of Fraud’ - but has more than 2.8 billion users and counting.

But, with little to no measures in place to protect users from cyber criminals and fraudsters, the platform is a directory of potential victims.

As consumers, we are constantly looking for good deals every day of the year. But with Christmas shopping in full swing, the risk of falling victim to suspect online deals becomes greater.

UK Finance found that a total of £239.3 million was lost in the first half of 2023 to APP frauds/scams - when a criminal tricks their victim into sending money directly into an account controlled by the fraudster. These usually go hand-in-hand with purchase frauds, when a victim pays for goods or services in advance and never receives them.

Lloyds Bank found that someone in the UK becomes a victim of a purchase scam every seven minutes, costing consumers upwards of £27 million a year. And 68 per cent of all purchase scams are carried out on two Meta-owned social platforms - Facebook and Instagram.

High Street bank TSB estimates that around 65,000 people in the UK lost £37.5 million through Facebook Marketplace last year alone and called on the company to take urgent action.

UK Finance has warned that the level of fraud in the UK has reached a point where it must be considered a ‘national threat’. It is the most common crime in England and Wales, totalling up to 3.7 million incidents in December 2021 - 40 per cent of all crime.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) reported 3.3 million fraud offences during its half-year fraud report in June 2023. This was a nine per cent decline from 2022 (290,046 offences) but the overall police recorded fraud was 15 per cent higher (1.0 million offences).

And UK Finance found that 77 per cent of all Authorised Push Payments (APP) scams during 2023 originated on an online platform.

How do we protect ourselves from online scams?

There are several types of scams online, purchase scams are only one of many.

It is advised to keep yourself updated and aware of the prevalence of fraud and its various types, like investment scams, advance fee scams and romance scams just to name a few.

It is best to never approach or trust strangers who seem like they are providing a deal which is too good to be true - it most likely isn’t.

Always use debit or credit cards and never provide sensitive information about your bank account.

Only shop from trusted retailers and avoid online purchases from Facebook Marketplace.

Getting scammed may have detrimental effects on your mental health and/or financial situation.

But as jarring as the experience may be, always report scams to the police or organisations like Citizens Advice.

In the best-case scenario, you may receive your money back.

If not, you will still be adding new and important information that will better inform the police and organisations looking to prevent scammers.