 were carried out on Facebook and Instagram. The most common purchase scams involve customers buying cars, trainers, shoes and gaming consoles. To stop you from falling for such a scam this Black Friday, The Sun spoke to Steph Sinclair, fraud expert at TSB. She revealed the biggest red flags to look out for and how to stop you from losing potentially thousands of pounds. She said: "While there are many legitimate deals to be had, it's incredibly important to stay vigilant, particularly while on social media platforms – if it seems too good to be true, it probably is." 1. Not reviewing dodgy-looking websites Scammers will often use ads on Facebook or Instagram to entice customers to a separate website to buy a product. But, if you've not used the website before and aren't convinced it's legitimate, you should review it and make sure it checks out. You can do this by entering the website's name onto Google and double-checking the merchant is approved. Steph said: "People need to be vigilant. "It's about making sure when they're clicking on stuff be conscious where they're being taken onto websites. "If it's an Amazon website, ask yourself is it actually Amazon." 'Make sure if it's a website you'v){kind=link}
SHOPPERS will be looking to bag the best bargains this Black Friday – but they should be on their guard for fraudsters.
The annual sales day sees billions spent each year, with customers picking up everything from tech to health and beauty products.
But new data from TSB has revealed how scammers have swindled unwitting consumers out of hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds on social media and other platforms this year.
And Black Friday will be a prime opportunity for criminals to try their usual tricks.
The statistics from TSB show over 60% of all reported scams were purchase frauds – where customers are encouraged to buy fake or even non-existent goods.