Facebook has removed from its Marketplace platform a listing that was operating a fake rental scam in Killarney.
The social media giant took action after being contacted by Radio Kerry.
A listener contacted Jerry O'Sullivan on Kerry Today after they lost €1,400 because of the scam.
As a result, Meta, Facebook's parent company, investigated the fake listing as well as the profile that had listed it.
The scam listed a real short term rental property in Killarney by purporting to offer a long-term rental at an attractive price on the Facebook Marketplace platform.
One individual lost €1,400 which he had paid into an Italian bank account which he thought had secured rental of the property.
The victim alerted gardaí who are investigating the matter.
The real owners of the property attempted to complain the fake posting to Facebook only to be initially informed that the posting did not breach Facebook Marketplace's commerce policy.
The social media company then investigated the listing and the profile, and subsequently took the listing down and banned the profile behind it.
When questioned about the company’s policies around combatting online fraud on its platforms, Facebook said it recognises its important role in tackling the industry-wide issue of online purchase scams and is continually investing in systems to block scams.
It added that Facebook Marketplace is a local meet up and collection service so it doesn't facilitate payments or shipping, and advises users to never pay for something until they see it in person.
