Reports of purchase scams involving trainers and shoes have more than doubled so far this year compared with a year earlier, according to a major bank. Lloyds Bank said the volume of these reports made by customers had soared by 112% this year so far compared with a year earlier, with victims losing £152 on average.
The figures were based on analysis of purchase scams reported by Lloyds Banking Group customers between January 2022 and April 2022, with comparisons made with data from the same period last year. Purchase scams involve people being tricked into transferring money for goods or services, often advertised online or via social media, that may not exist or are shoddy or fake.
Trainers and shoe scams are the most commonly reported type of purchase scam that Lloyds said it was seeing. While fraudsters will advertise any brand they think might snare an unsuspecting victim, Lloyds said analysis of reported cases showed that Nike was among the popular brands whose merchandise scammers may falsely claim to be selling.
Tickets scams had also exploded this year, as people were keen to attend events following the easing of Covid-19-related restrictions. While the overall number of ticket scams being reported was lower than some other items, the number of cases being reported had rocketed by 603% already this year, Lloyds said. The average amount lost was £251, with football matches and concerts the events most likely to appear in fake adverts.
The number of purchase…
