JEDDAH: A legal adviser has warned the public about the increasing number of fraudsters who are involved in sales and purchasing operations on social media sites, particularly Instagram as this site is very popular today.

He noted that the methods and means of displaying the goods for sale are very diverse on the site, with some claiming to specialize in home marketing, cosmetics and luxury goods, others consumer products.

Hmoud Al-Khalidy, the legal adviser who issued the public warning, said that such new fraudulent businesses are spreading in ways that the public could not have imagined before, with fake sellers using social media to display their goods and items as being original, fooling women and others into believing that the items are unique and worth the money that they are being requested to pay for them.

"Such fake advertisements are widespread on Instagram, which is a site that is being accessed by every smartphone or other technological device owned by individuals across the country, making it very lucrative," said Al-Khalidy. He noted that these advertisements help the marketer to easily exercise commercial fraud by publicising items for sale without any supervision or control from any party.

"The majority of the victims of such 'businesses' cannot take legal action against these companies or their owners because they do not know the real name or contact details of the company or the person promoting the items. In addition, in many of the cases the money paid for one item is relatively small, so filing a lawsuit against the company is not feasible as the litigation process costs a lot of time and money for the individual," he explained.

Al-Khalidy suggested that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry directly intervene with the cooperation of the Communications and Information Technology Commission in order to verify the existence of these companies, such as through checking the licenses of operators, thereby helping to curb fraudulent practices.