TSB has warned shoppers about online purchase fraud ahead of Black Friday and Christmas, saying Facebook accounted for 65% of its purchase-scam cases where customers reported a platform. The bank's release reports £2.3 million in losses from 1 January to 30 September 2026, while Computer Weekly cites £2.6 million for the same period.
Facebook Featured in 65% of TSB Cases With a Recorded Platform
Among TSB purchase-fraud cases where a platform was recorded, Facebook accounted for 65%, followed by TikTok at 14%, Snapchat at 7% and Instagram at 6%. The figures describe reports made by TSB customers where the platform was recorded; they do not measure all scams on those services or across the UK.
TSB says purchase fraud accounted for 45% of its bank-transfer fraud losses over the same nine-month period. The bank described the figure as up 4% year on year, but did not specify whether that meant a relative increase or a four-percentage-point change. It also reported an average loss of £540 per customer.
There is a discrepancy in the total losses reported. TSB's release puts its customers' purchase-fraud losses at £2.3 million between 1 January and 30 September; Computer Weekly reports £2.6 million for that period. The available reports do not explain the £300,000 difference.
TSB should be asked to reconcile the figures before either is presented as definitive.
TSB also listed the categories with the highest average losses. Vehicle scams averaged £1,541, while holiday and flight scams averaged £1,209. Tickets, car parts, pets and accessories were also among the items and services appearing in its customer data.
UK Purchase Scams Cost £118.1 Million in 2025
The bank's figures sit within a wider UK problem, though the data sets measure different things. UK Finance recorded 175,809 purchase-scam cases and £118.1 million in losses in 2025. It defines a purchase scam as a payment made for goods or services that are never received, often after a seller advertises them on social media or another online platform.
UK Finance counts affected cards or accounts, not necessarily individual people. Its national figures therefore should not be directly compared with TSB's customer data or survey responses.
TSB commissioned a Censuswide poll of 2,000 UK adults for its seasonal warning. One-third of respondents said they had fallen victim to a purchase scam on social media or second-hand platforms. That is a survey finding, separate from TSB's records of customer losses.
AI-Generated Images Add to Shoppers' Uncertainty
The TSB poll found that 41% of respondents were not confident they could distinguish AI-generated images from genuine photographs when shopping online. It does not establish that AI-generated images were involved in the bank's reported fraud cases.
National Trading Standards reported in September that 47% of UK adults said it was becoming harder to tell what was genuine online, while 24% felt overwhelmed by increasingly sophisticated scams. Its AI Scam Watchlist identifies fake product images, websites, reviews and messages among techniques criminals may use.
The agency says AI can make existing scams more convincing; the survey does not measure how frequently AI images appear in purchase scams.
For shoppers using Facebook Marketplace, TechTimes has outlined common warning signs such as unusually low prices, pressure to pay quickly and requests to move conversations off-platform. These practical steps are relevant to the risks described, but do not imply that every seller or listing on a platform is fraudulent.
UK Finance Calls for Stronger Platform Responsibilities
UK Finance says 66% of authorised push-payment fraud cases in 2025 began online and 17% through telecommunications networks. The industry body is calling for stronger responsibilities for high-risk platforms, seller verification on marketplaces and more intelligence-sharing between technology, telecoms and financial services firms.
Those are policy recommendations, not measures already adopted.
The government's Online Fraud Charter sets out commitments for signatory platforms, including detecting and removing fraudulent content, providing reporting routes and sharing intelligence. It also addresses seller verification and secure payment information for marketplaces. Ofcom separately announced proposed measures targeting fraudulent adverts on major online services.
The proposals are not yet implemented requirements, and not every fraudulent marketplace listing is a paid advertisement.
TSB's fraud-prevention director, Richard Daniels, advised shoppers to consider official sites or marketplaces that offer a payment platform. The bank's warning draws on its own customer data and commissioned polling; UK Finance and National Trading Standards provide wider context, but their figures cover different populations and periods.
