Online fraudsters con tech-savvy men out of £22m
TECH-savvy young men have been conned out of more than £22million by online shopping fraudsters.
An increasing number of men in their 30s are falling for fake internet shopping and auction adverts in a scam run by international criminal gangs.
In London alone, nearly 7,000 online shopping fraud crimes are committed every year, netting criminals in excess of £8million. The latest statistics from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau showed men accounted for 61 per cent of victims, with those aged between 31 and 40 most affected.
Most are duped by fake adverts for “cut price” high-end goods, including cars, laptops, clothes and phones.
Tomorrow, the Metropolitan Police will launch a nationwide online campaign urging people using shopping and auction sites to think before they rush into buying a bargain that is simply too good to be true.
Det Insp Brendan Bannon said the criminal gangs tended to be based in Romania with UK “foot soldiers” who carefully priced products just below genuine adverts. They post fake adverts on sites like eBay or Gumtree, setting up bogus accounts often based on English names, like Amy or Lucy, that
‘People get taken over by greed and thinking they’re getting a bargain – common sense goes out of the window’
Britons are more likely to trust. After emailing over a sob story, such as having an ill relative or needing to leave the country, they encourage a quick sale and insist on cutting out the website’s secure payment system.
Police said “alarm bells should ring” when a seller asks a buyer to step away from the auction or sales process.
In the last financial year, there were 6,879 reports of online shopping fraud in London, an increase of 946 – or 14 per cent – on the previous year.
Det Insp Bannon said: “People get taken over by greed and thinking they’re getting a bargain – common sense goes out of the window.”