A man has been charged with multiple alleged Facebook Marketplace scams across Auckland — prompting police to warn users amid a “concerning amount of reports” of fraudulent activity.
Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Bolton said a 26-year-old man was located and arrested after a search warrant at a Glen Innes address on Saturday.
This was in relation to complaints of a number of fraud incidents across Auckland in recent weeks, he said.
Police said there was a “concerning amount of reports” that people were being duped by other online users.
Bolton described Facebook Marketplace as a “successful hunting ground” for criminals to buy items using a fake bank transfer or to sell items that did not exist and did not deliver.
“Every day, our officers in the Financial Crime Unit are assessing and, unfortunately, filing files where a fake bank transfer has been used by these offenders.
“We’ve noticed the fake images have become more and more convincing, which means more people have fallen victim to their trap.”
The Financial Crime Unit estimates that up to 60 reports are filed a month relating to this type of crime, sometimes up to three reports a day.
Bolton said these types of scams were “notoriously difficult” to investigate, so users of these platforms are urged to exercise caution.
“Prevention will always be the best tactic to avoid becoming a victim.”
Police provided the following advice:
- Insist on meeting to conduct transactions and examine the item before completing the transaction
- Meet in a public place and take a friend
- Do not go into someone’s house or allow them into yours
- Do not deposit money into another person’s account before you have received the item
- Learning more about the person you are buying from or selling to
- Ensure friends and family, especially anyone vulnerable, understand what to do to protect themselves
- Be the person to provide that ongoing support and advice
- Trust your instincts – if it’s too good to be true or sounds like a scam, it probably is.
Anyone who believed they have been a victim of fraud should contact police.
The 26-year-old man was due to appear in Auckland District Court today on 27 charges of fraud, all of which are alleged to have occurred on the Facebook Marketplace platform.
