Fraud is becoming more and more common in Sweden, not least those that take place over the internet or by telephone.
In 2023, criminal profits for fraud increased by as much as 22 percent compared to the year before. The total criminal profits landed at SEK 7.5 billion.
According to the police, the profits are reinvested in new criminal schemes such as drugs and weapons.
Profits of Crime 2023 by Fraud Type:
Source: The police
News24 has previously reported on fraud that takes place on trading sites on the internet, not least Facebook Marketplace.
Something that is common on the platform are fake ads posted by fraudsters.
These are made to make you believe that the item you want to buy is genuine, that you will swipe money and then realize that the item didn’t even exist in the first place or that you will never get it delivered to your home.
Last year, 27,000 ad frauds were reported in Sweden from Facebook Marketplace – an increase of 66 percent.
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Photo: Stephen Frost / Alamy / Stella PicturesTechnology extra smart to buy used
In order to avoid being cheated, there are several things you as a consumer should be aware of when shopping used online. Especially when it comes to technology such as mobile phones.
These can be particularly clever, as it is not possible to know whether the phone works as it should before you have been able to use it.
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This is how you avoid unscrupulous sellers
First of all, you should make sure that you buy the phone from a reputable seller. Here are some signs that may indicate that you should avoid the seller, according to The block:
Photo: Oscar Olsson/TT That’s how you know the mobile phone hasn’t been stolen
Furthermore, it can be good to find out that the phone you want to buy is not stolen. You can do this by looking up the mobile’s IMEI number on a site such as, for example amta.org.su. There you can see if the phone has been reported as stolen or lost.
If you haven’t already bought the phone, you can ask the seller for the phone’s IMEI number. If, however, you have already bought it, do the following to get the number:
Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
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Use purchase protection
Last but not least, it is important to choose shipping with purchase protection if the option is available. This means that you do not pay until you have received the mobile home and approved it.
If you bought a mobile phone that doesn’t work as expected, you can choose to send it back to the seller and thus get your money back from the merchant. But only if you have chosen shipping with purchase protection in advance.
Purchase protection is available, just like BankID verification, on Tradera and Blocket but not on Facebook Marketplace.
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