Major British Bank Says 68% of Customer Fraud Cases Start on Meta Platforms

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Over two-thirds of incidents of fraud reported by Lloyds Bank customers begin on Meta-owned platforms, according to the bank’s fraud prevention director.

Writing in The Sunday Times, Liz Ziegler said 68% of customer fraud reports began on Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp, which are all owned by Meta. The bank’s data shows people in their late twenties and early thirties are most at risk overall, while under-25s, including children under 18, were particularly vulnerable to ticket scams.

Concert, festival, and sports ticket fraud was the most common category reported, with fake tickets for Taylor Swift and Liverpool Football Club matches among the examples cited by customers.

Other scams reported by customers included fake adverts on Facebook Marketplace for cars, bikes, mobility vehicles, rental deposits, driving lessons, tattoo deposits, wedding photobooths, football shirts, furniture, and electronic devices.

Lloyds Bank also reported that consumers were sending around £66 million (approx. $88 million) a year to fraudsters after engaging with scam adverts published on Meta platforms. This is an increase from £27 million (approx. $36 million) in 2023. The average claim for fraud submitted to the bank has also now surpassed £500 (approx. $668), around £100 (approx. $133) higher than last year.

Ziegler wrote: “Fraud prevention needs urgency, strong action and a clear focus on protecting people before they fall victim.”

The findings come as UK law firms Richardson Hartley Law and Humphries Kerstetter prepare a group action claim against Meta on behalf of hundreds of scam victims seeking to recoup losses linked to fraudulent adverts on Facebook or Instagram.

Meta said scammers use increasingly sophisticated tactics to evade detection, adding that it removed more than 159 million scam adverts last year, 92% before they were reported. The company said it works with banks and law enforcement to disrupt fraud and protect users.