Security News > 2022 > May > Facebook rated least safe e-commerce option in government rankings

A newly implemented e-commerce rating system in the city-state of Singapore has rated Facebook's Marketplace as the least trustworthy e-commerce platform, behind Amazon and its Alibaba-owned Asian analogue Lazada.

The ratings system, known as the E-commerce Marketplace Transaction Safety Ratings [PDF], was launched on May 14th by the Inter-Ministry Committee on Scams.

Singaporean authorities plan six-monthly updates to help consumers better understand which e-commerce platforms are safe.

The IMCS initiatives don't stop there: the Committee also updated Singapore's Guidelines for Electronic Commerce Transaction known as Technical Reference 76 which are designed to help e-retailers and e-marketplaces provide more secure transactions.

The Ministry of Home Affairs and Singapore Standards advocated the use of TR76 as a guideline for platforms to score higher on the TSR. The ratings scheme and revised regulations come months after Singapore experienced a wave of phishing and tech support scams.

In the first half of May 2022, at least 15 victims lost more than $8,600 to scammers posing on consumer-to-consumer e-commerce site Carousell, which was awarded a rating of two, just above Facebook Marketplace in the TSR. Last Saturday, Singapore Police announced an investigation of over 306 people for involvement in 941 scam cases totalling $4.6 million.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/05/17/facebook_rated_least_safe_ecommerce/