Woman robbed of £3,600 by Facebook marketplace fraud
Lucy decided to demolish her old workspace (pictured) in favour of the one she thought she'd bought. SWNS
Evesham, Worcestershire — A cautionary tale is echoing across social media as a beauty therapist, Lisa Fletcher, seeks to raise awareness about online scams after being swindled out of £3,600 on Facebook Marketplace.
Lisa Fletcher, a 46-year-old resident of Evesham, Worcestershire, is sharing her harrowing encounter in an effort to shield others from falling into the same trap of online fraud.
Fletcher's ordeal began when she chanced upon a tempting listing for a pre-built shipping container office on the widely used e-commerce platform, Facebook Marketplace. Following what she believed to be satisfactory conversations with the seller through messages and phone calls, Fletcher took the plunge and transferred the requested £3,600. The con artist bolstered their deception by providing official-looking invoices and business documents, leaving Fletcher with no inkling of doubt regarding the authenticity of the transaction.
The promised garden office, however, never arrived, leaving Fletcher not only out of pocket but also grappling with a series of financial setbacks. In addition to losing the £3,600 investment, she had to contend with lost earnings and the necessity of purchasing and converting an alternative container for her needs.
Adding to her woes, Fletcher had already dismantled her existing workspace to make room for the anticipated new office, which never materialized. Despite promptly reporting the incident to her bank, Santander, Fletcher's frustration only mounted when the bank offered her a partial reimbursement.
Fletcher's unfortunate experience underscores the disturbing surge in scams proliferating across various social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Recent studies indicate that these digital platforms are now breeding grounds for more than a million instances of fraud each year, surpassing conventional crimes such as robberies, burglaries, and even homicides.
In response to Lisa Fletcher's case, Santander disclosed that their initial fraud detection mechanisms had indeed flagged the transaction as potentially dubious, leading to an initial halt in payment. However, following discussions with Fletcher, the payment was subsequently cleared. The bank, although acknowledging the situation, adhered to the guidelines laid out in the Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM) Code, resulting in a partial reimbursement.
Fletcher's brave decision to share her unsettling experience aims to arm others with the knowledge and vigilance required to evade falling prey to deceptive schemes of this nature. Her story serves as a rallying cry for heightened caution while navigating the digital landscape, which has become a breeding ground for increasingly sophisticated forms of cyber fraud.
