Police have warned that shoppers hunting for cut-price deals on resale platforms such as Vinted, eBay and Facebook Marketplace are inadvertently fuelling organised shoplifting gangs.
Criminal networks are now regularly turning to online marketplaces to sell goods stolen from high street retailers. As such, shoppers have been urged to question heavily discounted products advertised as brand new.
National Business Crime Centre lead Superintendent Lisa Maslen told The Telegraph that organised gangs were ‘exploiting women and children’ to steal products from stores, before selling them through legitimate-looking online listings.
She warned that clothing advertised as ‘brand new with tags’ could be a particular red flag, especially when offered at prices significantly below their retail value.
“If it seems too good to be true and too good a price, then you know there’s something wrong. Trust your instincts,” Maslen said.
The police chief urged consumers to consider the wider consequences of buying potentially stolen goods, warning that demand was helping sustain criminal activity on Britain’s high streets.
Maslen is set to host a summit in January alongside Home Office officials and representatives from Vinted, Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree to tackle the growing use of online resale platforms by organised crime groups.
Research commissioned by the NBCC and backed by the Home Office, found that shoplifting remained profitable because criminals could quickly convert stolen stock into cash through online marketplaces, rogue businesses and other resale channels.
The report called for greater collaboration between police, retailers and online platforms to disrupt the networks handling stolen goods.
The British Independent Retailers Association has also urged marketplaces to take greater responsibility for preventing stolen products from being sold through their platforms.
Bira chief executive Andrew Goodacre previously warned that disrupting the markets making theft profitable was just as important as catching offenders.
Currently, more than 500,000 shoplifting offences are recorded annually across England and Wales.
Usdaw general secretary Joanne Thomas said shop theft had doubled since the pandemic, with offenders becoming increasingly brazen and organised.
Meanwhile, eBay insisted it prohibits the sale of stolen goods and uses technology to identify suspicious activity, alongside working with police to support investigations.
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