When May you one evening was at home, she had no idea that she would soon have a very unexpected visitor. Late in the evening, around 10 p.m., there was a sudden knock on the door.
When she opened it, she was greeted by two people she had never met before. But they seemed to know her. They were there to pick up patio furniture they had bought from her on Facebook’s buy-and-sell service, Marketetplace.
– I was shocked and did not understand what happened, says Maja Ni News24.
The couple said that they had paid a down payment for the outdoor furniture before going there and that they had proof that they had spoken to her in particular.
When the couple showed a conversation they had had with “Maja”, she realized that someone had hijacked her identity and used it to commit fraud.
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“I was scared”
Last year, 27,141 ad frauds were reported in Sweden, an increase of approximately seven percent from the year before, according to The police authority. According to Nina Jelverhead of security at Svensk Handel, about half of the notifications come from Facebook Marketplace.
– It can be about many different types of fraud. Most often it is someone trying to sell a product that does not exist. But that is only one of many ways, says Nina Jelver to Nyheter24.
Maja Ni tries to explain to the couple that she hasn’t sold any goods and that she doesn’t even use her real name on Facebook. She does not know how the fraudsters got hold of her address.
The couple who came to her door finally understood that they had been tricked. Maja Ni feels that it was lucky that the couple showed understanding of the situation, but the incident has left her shaken and with an unpleasant feeling that it could happen again.
– I was scared and feel uncomfortable about getting more knocks on the door, she tells Nyheter24.
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The preliminary investigation was dropped
Maja You report the incident to the police, but the preliminary investigation is quickly closed. The decision left her disappointed and worried.
Nina Jelver points out that Facebook Marketplace has particular problems compared to many other digital secondary markets.
– Ads on Facebook are very rarely reviewed, and since anyone can create an account without regulation, it becomes almost impossible to trace a fake seller who chooses to disappear, Nina Jelver tells Nyheter24.
She emphasizes that you should always file a police report, but at the same time says that there are no guarantees that the case will be investigated when it comes to ad fraud.
– As long as these types of buying and selling sites exist, the fraudsters will also exist. Fraudsters’ methods always develop at the same pace as technology, says Nina Jelver.
– The fraudsters are almost always one step ahead. You really have to be careful, she adds.
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