Scam ads slipping through the net too easily on second-hand marketplaces, Which? warns

Scammers are avoiding detection on second-hand marketplaces, Which? is warning, after an investigation by the consumer champion found Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace and Nextdoor failed to quickly pick up on suspicious listings on their sites. 

Second-hand marketplaces can be a happy hunting ground for scammers - because consumers do not have the same rights as they do when buying from a retailer. 

Amazon Marketplace, Depop, eBay, Preloved, Vinted and Shpock all have some form of buyer protection available - unlike Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and Nextdoor which do not offer any buyer protection. 

However, a Which? survey of more than 2,000 UK adults found that this is not clear to consumers. A quarter (25%) of Facebook Marketplace buyers and a quarter (25%) of Gumtree buyers each thought the marketplaces had buyer protection schemes. One in eight (13%) Nextdoor buyers incorrectly thought it had buyer protection.

Without these schemes, users may struggle to get their money back if they are scammed and are therefore more reliant on the marketplace detecting and removing scams before anyone can fall victim. 

To put Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and Nextdoor to the test, Which? created a fake identity and used that to set up a new account on each site, before immediately uploading a listing for a secondhand Nikon digital camera. 

Which? created a Nextdoor account with an AI-generated profile picture, glossy stock image of a generic camera and offered the item at a suspiciously low price. The ad stated a Nikon camera was available with delivery – with the buyer having to pay prior to the camera being posted by bank transfer or PayPal's Friends and Family option. The listing went live and stayed up for about 18 hours before Which? was forcibly logged out and all attempts to log back in failed, indicating the account had been suspended or deleted. 

However, by then two users had messaged with inquiries about buying the camera, suggesting a real scammer may have been able to trick a prospective buyer.

The consumer champion found that when investigators tried to post the same ad on Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree with signs of being a scam, they were blocked from doing so. But these checks were subverted by using a different laptop and fresh identity and posting a more legitimate-looking ad initially, before subsequently editing it to include tactics and payment methods favoured by fraudsters.

To beat Facebook and Gumtree's checks, the consumer champion changed to a new device, WiFi connection and bogus identity, and for Facebook, the investigators uploaded an AI-generated image profile picture, with some very basic personal details. Which? then uploaded a more plausible ad for a Nikon D60, with genuine pictures and stated that the item could be collected in person. These went live without any issue. 

After almost a full day the consumer champion edited the still-live ads to state that items would be posted and would require pre-postage payment by bank transfer or PayPal Friends and Family. In this format, the ads went live once again and stayed live. 

After four days, Which? upped the ante, editing both to slash the price in half and to state that payment needed to be made via Apple gift cards – a payment method that is notoriously favoured by scammers as gift card codes can be sold on and are very difficult to trace. 

The Gumtree listing once again passed a review in minutes and remained up for more than a day, before going ‘under review' once again and then disappearing from search results.

The Facebook listing remained live almost 48 hours after the edit, so Which? reported it to Facebook from another account. Facebook rejected that report and refused to remove the listing, offering the chance to appeal within 180 days but seemingly offering no clear way to do so. Which? eventually deleted the listing.

With the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau reporting 56,603 instances of online shopping and auction fraud and £104.6 million lost in the year to the start of October 2024, it is clear purchase fraud is rife. Platforms need to ensure they have proper checks in place to prevent potentially fraudulent ads from going live and exposing their users to scams. They should also quickly remove any suspicious ads when reported. 

Which? is calling for the government and Ofcom to go further and faster in implementing the Online Safety Act. Considering online fraud is one of the most commonly committed crimes in the UK today, it is simply not good enough that specific protections against fraudulent advertisements are not likely to come into effect until 2027. The government must step in to revise these timelines, and the new fraud minister must provide clarity around what the government will be doing in the interim to hold platforms to account.

Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said: 

“Our investigation shows fraudsters' ads are able to slip through the net on second-hand marketplaces and con people out of their hard-earned cash. 

“Platforms should also be doing more to protect their users. Proper checks must be put in place to prevent potentially fraudulent ads from going live and any suspicious ads which slip through the net should be quickly investigated and removed.

“More widely, these findings highlight just how necessary it is for the government to robustly enforce and implement the Online Safety Act in full. The current timetable is simply not good enough and risks letting many more fall victim to scammers.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

Research

Which? surveyed 2,084 adults in the UK between 20th and 23rd September 2024, asking them about their previous years usage of nine online second hand marketplaces. Fieldwork was carried out online by Deltapoll and data has been weighted to be representative of the UK population (aged 18+).

Fieldwork was carried out online by a Which? researcher in September 2024. 

Link to previous Which? research revealing a third of buyers scammed on second-hand marketplaces here. 

Timeline of Which?'s investigation

How to spot a scam listing 

There are a few tell-tale signs to look out for that a listing might be a scam: 

1, Bargain prices - Scammers sometimes set a price eye-catchingly low in a bid for your attention. Look at lots of listings for the same item to get a feel for average prices. 

2, Strange payment requests - Payment before postage can be risky. Sending money by bank transfer, gift card or PayPal Friends and Family could leave you unprotected. 

3, Stock images - Genuine sellers should be able to show you a photograph of the item in a home environment. Stock photos are suspicious and don't show an item's condition. 

4, Thin profiles - Be wary of new or blank profiles with no profile picture, personal information, past activity or ratings. These could exist solely for creating scam listings.

Rights of replies

Joseph Rindsland, Head of Trust & Safety at Gumtree, said: “At Gumtree, ensuring our users remain safe whilst trading online is our absolute priority, and something that we are constantly reviewing and investing in. Our strong human and automated moderation processes are effective at detecting risk factors, removing fraudulent ads, and blocking offending users, as proven by the fact that all ads in this experiment were ultimately taken down by our dedicated safety team. While bad actors will always try to circumvent even advanced anti-fraud tools, we are regularly updating and enhancing our rules and filters to respond to the changing landscape of harms and fraudulent activity.

“We also have a strong focus on educating our users on how to make safe purchases when using our platform. Our dedicated Safety Hub offers comprehensive information on how to follow best practice when trading on Gumtree, and we strongly encourage anyone who has suspicions or concerns about a user to report it to us immediately via our helpdesk, so our dedicated safety team can take action. If a user identifies a suspicious ad or reply, they can also report this directly to our Trust & Safety team via the report function; all reports are investigated within four hours.

“As a result of our rigorous trust and safety measures and focus on user education, our latest Transparency Report published in February 2024 found that 99% of listings published in 2023 were without issue. You can read our full report to learn more about how our safety infrastructure works in practice here.”

Meta, Facebook's parent company, highlighted its ongoing work with Stop Scams UK and UK banks to identify and remove scams at source. It described Marketplace as a local meet up and collection service, telling Which? that the majority of payments are done when goods are exchanged. 

Meta said it encouraged users to check whether a profile appears new or incomplete, check reviews of online sellers where available, insist on meeting in public to view the product before completing any transaction and only pay once they have seen the item. It advised use of payment options that include strong protections, such as PayPal, but avoidance of its Friends and Family option. 

Meta's information on how to avoid Facebook scams is available here. 

A Nextdoor spokesperson said: “While Nextdoor does not comment on individual cases, we'd note that the platform has implemented several new protective measures to combat fraudulent activity, including a warning reminder urging neighbours to be vigilant when clicking on links, sending money or being asked to verify their account. As evidenced in the screenshot you shared where you can see; 'Nextdoor will never message you asking you to verify your account. Learn more.'

“In the event that someone violates these guidelines, we will take appropriate action which may include the suspension or deactivation of accounts. We encourage you to read our transparency report to learn more about our work in this area.

“In addition, unlike other marketplaces, Nextdoor does not process online payments, limiting the likelihood of fraud and we're proud to have helped neighbours in the UK list over 7 Million local items on our For Sale and Free within their neighbourhoods.

“By not having an integrated payment option, Nextdoor helps limit fraud by reducing our involvement in the transaction process. Without handling direct payments, we avoid storing sensitive financial information such as credit card details, which lowers the risk of data breaches or hacking attempts. Additionally, by relying on third-party payment processors, users can benefit from those providers' well-established security protocols and fraud detection systems.”