Nationwide shared the warning on Twitter last week alongside a game to help its customers to spot the red flags of a potential Advance fee scam. The bank tweeted an image of a “spoof” online advert and asked its customers to point out what makes the advert a scam. The tweet said: “Have you ever been asked to pay an advanced fee?”
“We’ve created a spoof Facebook marketplace ad selling a phone. But can you spot the signs which could prove it’s a scam?”
The image attached to the tweet included a screenshot of a Facebook marketplace advert for an iPhone 13 Pro phone selling for £350 with the image in the advert being the phone box.
The advert details said: “Like new phone for sale! Price is cheap to sell fast Lots of interest so if you want to secure, a £35 deposit is required BEFORE pickup.”
Nationwide customers flooded the tweet with comments about how the advert looked “dodgy” with many pointing out the correct signs that it looked like a scam.
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One Twitter user @UKSVacher said: “Deposit before pickup, picture of a box and not the phone, no profile picture, only joined Facebook this year and price too good to be true.”
Another user, @SarahDawson83 also clocked the “red flags” and responded: “Just a picture of a phone and not even an iPhone at that no Apple symbol. Unrealistic price. Wanting money upfront. No profile picture. Only recently joined Facebook.”
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