The State of Marketplace Scams in Ireland — 2026 Report

Headline findings

Safegram compiled this 2026 snapshot of marketplace scam activity affecting Irish consumers from a combination of public Garda reporting, FraudSMART bulletins, Bank of Ireland and AIB fraud advisories, ScamWatch Ireland tickets and a Safegram-led survey of 500 Irish adults conducted in May 2026.

• Estimated €18.4m lost to online marketplace scams in Ireland in 2025 — up 23% year on year (FraudSMART aggregate).
• 1 in 4 Irish adults aged 18–34 reports being targeted by a marketplace scam in the last 12 months.
• 62% of reported scams originate on Facebook Marketplace; 14% on Adverts.ie / DoneDeal; 9% on Instagram DMs; 15% on other channels.
• Median individual loss: €185. Largest single reported loss in survey: €4,200 (concert ticket bundle).
• Only 11% of victims recovered any funds. 71% never reported the scam to Gardaí because they assumed nothing would happen.

Where the scams happen

The clear pattern in 2025–2026 is that scams begin on a platform with no verified identity and quickly move off-platform — usually to WhatsApp, SMS or a fake payment link. Once the conversation leaves the marketplace, the platform has no record, no moderation, and no recourse.

Concert and event tickets, PlayStation 5 consoles, designer goods and rental deposits are the four most reported scam categories in our 2026 survey.

Why verified identity matters

84% of survey respondents said they would pay a small premium to buy from a seller whose identity had been independently verified. 79% said they would refuse to deal with a seller whose profile was less than one week old.

This is the gap Safegram is built to close: every seller completes identity verification before they can list anything, every chat stays on-platform and is end-to-end encrypted, and payments run through Stripe Connect so buyers are never asked to send money to a stranger on Revolut.

Recommendations

For consumers: never pay by bank transfer to a seller you have not met; refuse to move the conversation off-platform; verify the seller's profile age and reviews; report every scam to Gardaí even when small.

For platforms: require identity verification before listing; keep payments on-platform; preserve full chat history for fraud investigations; publish quarterly transparency reports on fraud removal.

For regulators: extend the EU Digital Services Act marketplace obligations to verified-identity requirements; mandate publication of national fraud-loss data by platform.

Methodology

The 500-respondent survey was conducted online via Pollfish between 8–22 May 2026, nationally representative for Ireland by age, gender and region. Loss aggregates draw on public FraudSMART summaries and Garda National Economic Crime Bureau press releases. Full dataset and questionnaire available on request to press@safegram.com.