Overview
- Customers can upload images, listings and messages from sites such as Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Vinted and Etsy for a rapid risk assessment and tailored guidance.
- The feature flags common red flags like unrealistically low prices, non-genuine images, mismatched bank details, refusal to use secure payment tools and pressure to transfer money quickly.
- Built on Google’s Gemini models and Starling’s systems, the tool is available in the app’s payments tab to personal, joint and business account holders who opt in.
- Starling reports a 300% increase in cancelled marketplace payments during testing and estimates it can detect 90% of visual scam indicators, though no independent validation has been reported.
- UK fraud minister Lord Hanson welcomed the rollout as a constructive use of AI, and UK Finance data show £275.5 million was lost to APP fraud in the first half of 2025.