Revolut confirms that 60% of scam cases reported in the UK during 2023 came from Meta platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.
Revolut has acknowledged that over half of these scams come in the form of investment or get-rich-quick schemes.
The London-based fin-tech company describes “Meta as the primary originator of scams,” which are ever-increasing.
Reported cases in the UK rose from 52% between January and June to 66% in the six months up until the end of December 2023.
The avenue for scammers has turned digital, with a significant number of scams occurring online.
The main sources of these scams came from Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.
Revolut identified a similar trend across European markets, as over half of all reports from the European Economic Area (EEA) originated from Meta.
Typical scams
One of the most common scams reported were investment scams which proved most fruitful for fraudsters.
Victims were promised opportunities to “get-rich-quick” if they “invested” a lump sum of money.
Over half of the total amount of money lost to scam artists derived from investment scams in 2023.
However, this only represented 17% of the total number of cases, demonstrating that life-changing sums of money were lost across only a few cases, according to Revolut.
Another scam that is most prevalent is Purchase Scams, where individuals are scammed into paying for goods that weren’t as advertised or non-existent.
Half of scams in the UK were Purchase Scams – the most common form of scam, according to Revolut.
However, these scams came with lower monetary losses despite the higher frequency.
Online scams vs phone scams
The majority of scams recorded by Revolut in 2023 occurred online, as scammers prefer using the internet to siphon off money from unsuspecting individuals.
Scams that were committed over the phone made up only 11% of all cases, Revolut concludes.
Cybernews has reached out to Meta, we are currently awaiting comment.
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