60 per cent of scams in the UK reported to Revolut came from Instagram, Fscebook and Whatsapp, the fintech said
CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M; BUSINESS AS USUAL
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Tech companies, meanwhile, signed a voluntary online fraud charter last year to try and block more scams from reaching customers, with some institutions complaining have that Meta isn’t doing enough. Picture: Bloomberg
Most scams reported to finance app Revolut in the UK last year started their journey on Meta’s social media platforms, with most money lost to “get-rich-quick” investment schemes.
The London-based fintech found 60 per cent of UK scam cases came from Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, dwarfing other platforms and frauds conducted by telephone. Revolut found a similar trend across Europe, where 61 per cent of scams originated on Meta services.
Woody Malouf, Revolut’s head of financial crime, said Meta platforms were “being used as a hotbed for scams,” and urged Revolut customers to avoid so-called investment opportunities. “Banks and financial institutions should be the last line of defence, not the only line of defence.”
Malouf appeared alongside finance and technology executives this week at the UK’s home affairs committee in parliament, which is scrutinizing the surge in authorized push payment fraud. These scams trick customers into moving their money to accounts controlled by criminals and were responsible for almost £500 million in losses in 2022, according to the Payment Systems Regulator.
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Online fraudsters con consumers out of €8.6m in first half of 2023
Starting in October, payment firms that allow fraudulent payments to be sent and received must reimburse victims, unless they can show they were grossly negligent.
The rule change will affect newer, smaller finance companies in particular. The PSR found Monzo, Starling and Metro Bank Holdings Plc were among firms with the greatest proportion of APP fraud, with over 100 frauds per million transfers sent.
Tech companies, meanwhile, signed a voluntary online fraud charter last year to try and block more scams from reaching customers. Starling and others have complained that Meta isn’t doing enough about the problem.
“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 authorized to target UK users and we run consumer awareness campaigns on how to spot fraudulent behavior,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
“We also work closely with law enforcement and regulators and encourage our community to report scams immediately so we can take action against this kind of content swiftly.”
BUSINESS POST
Tech companies, meanwhile, signed a voluntary online fraud charter last year to try and block more scams from reaching customers, with some institutions complaining have that Meta isn’t doing enough. Picture: Bloomberg
Most scams reported to finance app Revolut in the UK last year started their journey on Meta’s social media platforms, with most money lost to “get-rich-quick” investment schemes.
The London-based fintech found 60 per cent of UK scam cases came from Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, dwarfing other platforms and frauds conducted by telephone. Revolut found a similar trend across Europe, where 61 per cent of scams originated on Meta services.
Woody Malouf, Revolut’s head of financial crime, said Meta platforms were “being used as a hotbed for scams,” and urged Revolut customers to avoid so-called investment opportunities. “Banks and financial institutions should be the last line of defence, not the only line of defence.”
Malouf appeared alongside finance and technology executives this week at the UK’s home affairs committee in parliament, which is scrutinizing the surge in authorized push payment fraud. These scams trick customers into moving their money to accounts controlled by criminals and were responsible for almost £500 million in losses in 2022, according to the Payment Systems Regulator.
Related Reads
Online fraudsters con consumers out of €8.6m in first half of 2023
Starting in October, payment firms that allow fraudulent payments to be sent and received must reimburse victims, unless they can show they were grossly negligent.
The rule change will affect newer, smaller finance companies in particular. The PSR found Monzo, Starling and Metro Bank Holdings Plc were among firms with the greatest proportion of APP fraud, with over 100 frauds per million transfers sent.
Tech companies, meanwhile, signed a voluntary online fraud charter last year to try and block more scams from reaching customers. Starling and others have complained that Meta isn’t doing enough about the problem.
“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 authorized to target UK users and we run consumer awareness campaigns on how to spot fraudulent behavior,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
“We also work closely with law enforcement and regulators and encourage our community to report scams immediately so we can take action against this kind of content swiftly.”
Meta accused of not taking Facebook Marketplace fraud seriously
Meta has been accused by MPs on the Home Affairs Committee of not taking the problem of online fraud on its platforms seriously (Tim Goode/PA)
By Martyn Landi,
Meta has been accused by MPs on the Home Affairs Committee of not taking the problem of online fraud on its platforms seriously (Tim Goode/PA)
By Martyn Landi,
PA Technology Correspondent
Yesterday
Meta has been accused by MPs of not taking the problem of online fraud on its platforms seriously.
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram came under scrutiny from the Home Affairs Select Committee after representatives from the banking sector said the “majority” of scams they see start on Meta platforms.
Paul Davis, financial crime prevention director at TSB, told the committee that Facebook Marketplace is the “main place” where purchase scams originate, which, along with investment and impersonation scams, are the most common types of fraud affecting bank customers.
“For those three types, which as I say are the main ones, we see about 80% start on social media,” Mr Davis told MPs.
“Indeed, let’s not walk past the fact that, when I say social media there, the majority of them start from the channels owned by one company in particular, which is Meta.”
He added: “Facebook Marketplace doesn’t have a payments channel attached to it, it’s not like a website you might use to buy something off a high street shop, for example, or Amazon. So, you have to get bank details from the seller of that item.
“What we see are customers telling us that they get bank details from the seller, send them money and then the item never turns up.”
In response, Philip Milton, public policy manager for fraud at Meta, told the committee that the tech giant takes the issue “extremely seriously”.
When suggested by the committee that evidence given to MPs by the banks shows Meta is not doing all it can to prevent online fraud, Mr Milton said: “I disagree with that.”
He went on: “To give you an idea of the scale that we’re putting in place to tackle this kind of thing, since 2016 we’ve invested 20 billion dollars on safety and security, and that’s not slowing down – five billion of that was in the last year alone.
“We have 40,000 people working across the company on safety and security. Half of that number are involved in directly reviewing content, so we invest significantly in trying to prevent this kind of thing from happening.”
He added that fraud “fundamentally undermines the experience we’re trying to provide for people” and said this, combined with fraudulent advertising affecting trust in the company from advertisers and its wider reputation, means the firm is “directly incentivised” to do all it can to prevent criminal activity.
However, committee member Tim Loughton, Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, argued that the five billion dollars Meta said it spent last year on safety and security equates to less than 4% of the firm’s annual revenue for the year – a figure he suggested is “not very high”.
You apparently have no financial skin in the game for clamping down on fraud on Facebook Marketplace other than potential reputational damageTory MP Tim Loughton to Meta's Philip Milton
Mr Loughton also questioned whether the 20,000 people reviewing content for Meta is an adequate number given the site has “four billion active accounts”, and suggested the social media giant is not taking the issue “terribly seriously” because, as Facebook Marketplace does not have a payments channel linked to it, the site is not financially liable if fraud takes place there.
“You apparently have no financial skin in the game for clamping down on fraud on Facebook Marketplace other than potential reputational damage,” he said.
“Unless there’s a clear link with advertisers walking away with their revenue because they’re concerned at (banking sector research showing) 80% of fraud starting on (social media platforms) and 68% of it specifically your platforms, then you don’t really have to take it terribly seriously – and the fact you’re spending five billion dollars out of an annual revenue of 134.9 billion, which, as I say, is three and a bit percent for a people-based service, is tiny.
“So you’re not taking this problem seriously, are you?”
In response, Mr Milton said: “I don’t agree with that at all”, and argued that “the scale of our investment demonstrates how seriously we take this problem”, adding that it is “market-leading” levels of funding for safety and security.
He added that, in response to tactics from fraudsters who demand payment or ask for an item to be sent before it is paid for, Meta has “removed the ability to ship an item on Facebook Marketplace”, and that there is “no way to pay for an item” on the platform because the firm is trying to “design out” the ability for criminals to use the platform for fraud.
Meta has been accused by MPs of not taking the problem of online fraud on its platforms seriously.
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram came under scrutiny from the Home Affairs Select Committee after representatives from the banking sector said the “majority” of scams they see start on Meta platforms.
Paul Davis, financial crime prevention director at TSB, told the committee that Facebook Marketplace is the “main place” where purchase scams originate, which, along with investment and impersonation scams, are the most common types of fraud affecting bank customers.
“For those three types, which as I say are the main ones, we see about 80% start on social media,” Mr Davis told MPs.
“Indeed, let’s not walk past the fact that, when I say social media there, the majority of them start from the channels owned by one company in particular, which is Meta.”
He added: “Facebook Marketplace doesn’t have a payments channel attached to it, it’s not like a website you might use to buy something off a high street shop, for example, or Amazon. So, you have to get bank details from the seller of that item.
“What we see are customers telling us that they get bank details from the seller, send them money and then the item never turns up.”
In response, Philip Milton, public policy manager for fraud at Meta, told the committee that the tech giant takes the issue “extremely seriously”.
When suggested by the committee that evidence given to MPs by the banks shows Meta is not doing all it can to prevent online fraud, Mr Milton said: “I disagree with that.”
He went on: “To give you an idea of the scale that we’re putting in place to tackle this kind of thing, since 2016 we’ve invested 20 billion dollars on safety and security, and that’s not slowing down – five billion of that was in the last year alone.
“We have 40,000 people working across the company on safety and security. Half of that number are involved in directly reviewing content, so we invest significantly in trying to prevent this kind of thing from happening.”
He added that fraud “fundamentally undermines the experience we’re trying to provide for people” and said this, combined with fraudulent advertising affecting trust in the company from advertisers and its wider reputation, means the firm is “directly incentivised” to do all it can to prevent criminal activity.
However, committee member Tim Loughton, Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, argued that the five billion dollars Meta said it spent last year on safety and security equates to less than 4% of the firm’s annual revenue for the year – a figure he suggested is “not very high”.
You apparently have no financial skin in the game for clamping down on fraud on Facebook Marketplace other than potential reputational damageTory MP Tim Loughton to Meta's Philip Milton
Mr Loughton also questioned whether the 20,000 people reviewing content for Meta is an adequate number given the site has “four billion active accounts”, and suggested the social media giant is not taking the issue “terribly seriously” because, as Facebook Marketplace does not have a payments channel linked to it, the site is not financially liable if fraud takes place there.
“You apparently have no financial skin in the game for clamping down on fraud on Facebook Marketplace other than potential reputational damage,” he said.
“Unless there’s a clear link with advertisers walking away with their revenue because they’re concerned at (banking sector research showing) 80% of fraud starting on (social media platforms) and 68% of it specifically your platforms, then you don’t really have to take it terribly seriously – and the fact you’re spending five billion dollars out of an annual revenue of 134.9 billion, which, as I say, is three and a bit percent for a people-based service, is tiny.
“So you’re not taking this problem seriously, are you?”
In response, Mr Milton said: “I don’t agree with that at all”, and argued that “the scale of our investment demonstrates how seriously we take this problem”, adding that it is “market-leading” levels of funding for safety and security.
He added that, in response to tactics from fraudsters who demand payment or ask for an item to be sent before it is paid for, Meta has “removed the ability to ship an item on Facebook Marketplace”, and that there is “no way to pay for an item” on the platform because the firm is trying to “design out” the ability for criminals to use the platform for fraud.
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