According to Action Fraud, “criminals are using unknown methods to hack into people’s Facebook accounts and sending messages from their to the victim’s contacts.

This can mean that a payment you’ve received in your PayPal account could be reversed, even if you’ve already posted the goods which can of course be frustrating.”

“PayPal will help you as much as possible if you wish to dispute a chargeback, but the final decision lies with the credit card company. However, you can also get protection with PayPal’s Seller Protection policy,” they added.Hackers also use the hacked Facebook accounts to request targets WhatsApp details, including their phone number.

In one case reported to the national fraud and cyber crime reporting center, an initial message sent through Facebook read.