Santander has issued a warning to account holders after it discovered more than 70% of purchase scams originate on social media.
In a call to other banks, Santander said all payment service providers should follow a specific set of rules to help prevent frauds where people are tricked into transferring cash to criminals. Highlighting one case, Santander said a 61-year-old woman was persuaded to make several payments to someone she thought she had made friends with while playing an online game.
In total, she transferred over £80,000 and was told to lie about the reasons for the payments. Santander said it emerged that the woman had been the victim of a scam when she started to experience financial hardship.
