FOUR in ten Scots consumers believe social media platforms and search engines are failing to adequately protect them from scams.
The new research has led to new calls to outlaw fraudulent paid-for adverts in the Online Safety Bill - to force tech firms to stop them appearing on their sites.
The study carried out by the consumer organisation Which? found that four in 10 (44%) Scottish consumers were dissatisfied with the protection from scams provided by social media platforms and search engines, more than double (20%) the number who felt protected.
This was higher than levels of dissatisfaction with the protection from scams offered by the government (39%), email providers (34%), telecommunication companies (30%) and online marketplaces (27%).
The consumer organisation alongside online scam victims, MPs and consumer and business organisations, are calling calling the government to include paid-for advertising in the Online Safety Bill to help tackle an "epidemic" of scams gripping society.
An estimated 9 million people (17%) across the UK have been targeted by a scam on social media.
One victim – Jill, 75, lost over £30,000 in a potential cryptocurrency scam in 2020.
She was tricked by an advert she saw posted by a third-party on Facebook, featuring fabricated quotes from Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden.
She thought that the advert was legitimate as it was on a site she trusted, and seemingly endorsed by a well-known entrepreneur.
After clicking on the advert, she was directed to an online form to input her personal details and immediately received a phone call from a representative for the company involved.
She said: “I have lost my life savings and have had to take an equity release out on my home. It has been very stressful. I urge Facebook to be more vigilant, and vet any companies allowed to advertise.”
Online shopping scams, where fraudsters often use adverts to hook in victims, are also a big problem. Previous analysis of Action Fraud statistics showed that this is easily the most reported type of fraud.
Crimes of all fraud in Scotland have risen by two-thirds over the past two years, sparking fresh calls for people to be vigilant.
UK Finance has been calling for new legislation to make online platforms responsible for taking down fraudulent content and better protect consumers from these scams.
Rocio Concha, Which director of policy and advocacy, said: “It is no surprise that consumers do not feel adequately protected by social media sites and search engines. These companies have some of the most sophisticated technology in the world, and yet they are not doing enough to protect their users from online scams on their sites.
“The government must include paid-for advertising in the Online Safety Bill so that consumers finally get the protection they need from fraudsters who will stop at nothing to target potential victims online.”
A Meta spokemsan for Facebook said: “Scammers use multiple methods on and offline to exploit people, including fake phone calls and text messages, phishing emails and online scam ads.
"We're dedicating significant resources to tackling this industry-wide issue on and off our platforms. To fight this, we work not just to detect and reject scam ads on our services, but block advertisers and, in some cases, take them to court.
"While no enforcement is perfect, we continue to invest in new technologies and methods to protect people on our service from these scams. We have also donated £3 million to Citizens Advice to deliver a UK Scam Action Programme to both raise awareness of online scams and help victims.”
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport is looking into the entire issue of online advertising through the Online Advertising Programme, including whether tougher regulation was needed.
It has said that it recognised the huge problem caused by scam ads and online fraud, and the bill would cover user-generated content, for example romance scams or where a person on Facebook puts up a post encouraging people to invest in their Ponzi scheme.
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