‘If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is’: Meta’s Facebook Marketplace used to on-sell stolen items

Thieves have found a haven to easily on-sell stolen items in Meta’s Facebook Marketplace – and police say the tech giant does little to stop it.

Meta’s Facebook Marketplace is a poorly regulated den of thieves, retailers and police say, with crooks creating fake profiles to offload goods stolen from traders facing surging rates of shoplifting.

Retailers say high-end handbags and fragrances, as well as collector items including Lego are among stolen items commonly listed on the free, classifieds-like platform – and the valuable goods are rarely recovered.

According to police, brazen thieves are even targeting big retailers, taking items such as power tools from Bunnings and furniture from IKEA and flogging them on the online platform.

Designer handbags are among frequently stolen items from retail stores then re-sold on Marketplace. Picture: SAPOL

Thieves often create fake profiles for a particular sale, claiming to be from locations far from where the goods were stolen from to avoid detection, then delete the profiles once sales are made to buyers around South Australia and across borders.

Police are cracking down on criminals who deal in stolen goods amid a 30 per cent surge in retail theft across the state recorded in 2023.

In one case, a woman, 32, was jailed for four months after she was arrested in August 2023 and charged with 18 counts of theft over stolen fragrances and sports clothing she sold on Facebook Marketplace.

In another case, 20 designer handbags stolen from a Rundle Mall shop appeared for sale on the platform.

SA Police Inspector Julian Coram, who heads anti-theft Operation Measure, urged people to be wary when considering second-hand goods from Facebook Marketplace and to remember that “if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is”.

A range of high-end sports clothing stolen from the Myer centre in Rundle Mall. Picture: SAPOL

“(Be wary) if things have tags on them or the person has multiple things for sale,” he said.

“For example, fragrances are quite a common targeted item.

“There’s probably no (legitimate) reason why someone would have multiple boxes of high-end fragrances for sale on their personal marketplace.

“It’s not against the law to sell on private Marketplace – it’s just the suspicious ones who have multiple items or multiple brand new things with tags.”

Inspector Coram said thieves were crafty in the way they used Facebook Marketplace.

“It is the case that we see a number of people pop up for a short time and deactivate profiles and create new ones,” he said.

“They’re quite creative in how they’re trying to move goods. It’s up to us to try and be one step ahead and catch up as well.”

Several retailers who had stock stolen confirmed to The Advertiser they actively monitored Facebook Marketplace for items being listed for sale.

Inspector Julian Coram said prospective buyers should ensure to do all they could to verify the legitimacy of their potential purchase. Picture: David Mariuz

One Rundle Mall trader told The Advertiser products sold from their shoe store frequently appeared on Marketplace and staff were well aware it was an issue.

Another Mall retailer said his friend had a watch stolen in Adelaide months ago and a Google alert set up for the specific brand eventually tracked it down to a Facebook Marketplace listing.

On The Parade at Norwood, Mayhem Collectables manager Tosh Glenn said staff scoured Facebook Marketplace when prized items were stolen.

“We make sure the team keeps an eye on onselling places (such as Marketplace) and re-selling outlets,” Mr Glenn said.

“We are lucky to have cameras and other ways of deterring theft.”

Inspector Coram said police were having success in combating onselling of stolen goods, in cases of both online and in-person transactions.

“We have had some really significant outcomes and it might be that we don’t identify the person the first time it happens, but if we piece it together as part of a broader series then we do usually identify who it is,” he said.

Retail union SDA SA branch secretary Josh Peak said cracking down on the onsale of stolen goods would reduce the incentives for thieves to target retailers.

“If there is more that can be done by major social media (platforms) to prevent the onsale of stolen goods then they should absolutely be doing it,” he said.

“It’s incredibly important as part of the social licence to engage with law enforcement to make sure their platform isn’t becoming a platform to easily sell stolen goods.

“If there’s more that can be done then it should be done.”

Facebook did not respond to requests for comment.

Inspector Coram said prospective buyers should ensure to do all they could to verify the legitimacy of their potential purchase.

“It’s quite difficult but it’s certainly not impossible for us to investigate and get a good result,” he said.

“The main thing is if we can reduce the demand from the third party – the actual buyer – then hopefully it would reduce some of the appetite for some of the stealing as well.”