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When Maheen found a brand-new Dyson Airwrap for the bargain price of £260 on the resale website Vinted, she was thrilled. The seller’s reviews were all five-star, and she trusted in the buyer-protection policy should something go wrong.

Sold new, an Airwrap costs between £400 and £480, but Maheen did not suspect anything was amiss. “I had used Vinted many times and it was simple and straightforward. Nothing had ever gone wrong,” she says.

However, after two weeks – and about four uses – she spotted a problem. “I noticed the wire began to smoke and the product seemed unsafe,” she says. Maheen contacted Dyson and was told to send in the Airwrap.

Its response confirmed her fears. “I got a letter from [Dyson] confirming the product was counterfeit. It was unsafe and they wouldn’t return it to me,” she says.

Maheen’s experience is far from unique. Almost two-fifths (37%) of Britons have been scammed while buying or selling on online marketplaces such as Facebook Marketplace, eBay and Vinted, according to research from the credit reference agency Experian.

Victims of this type of crime tend to skew younger, with more than half of gen Z (58%) telling researchers they had been scammed compared with just 16% of people over the age of 55.

For almost a quarter of people losses were in the region of £51 to £100, while 13% had lost more than £250. A small number said the scam had cost them between £501 and £1,000.

The most common type of scam respondents encountered – being sent fake or counterfeit products (34%) – is the one Maheen fell prey to. Next up was requests to pay off-platform (31%), and items never arriving after payment (22%).

What the scam looks like

It looks like the legitimate item and the description suggests it is – more than half of scam victims (51%) told Experian they only realised they had been scammed once their item was delivered and turned out to be fake, or failed to arrive.

Photos may be low resolution or look too good – like a catalogue photo – because they have been taken from other websites.

The price will be less than you would expect and if you start asking questions the seller may try to rush you into a purchase and may ask you to pay them outside the Vinted platform.

What to do

Always review a seller’s profile closely and read customer reviews before purchasing an item on a marketplace. Try to obtain as much information about the product as possible before buying – for instance, ask the seller to send a video of the product. To protect yourself, stick to secure payment methods and avoid bank transfers.

If the worst happens, report the incident to the marketplace and ask for a refund. They may ask for screenshots of messages and the details of the seller or buyer, plus any bank transfer details.

Maheen was outside the Vinted two-day buyer protection window, but assumed she would get her money back because the product was dangerous. However, she found that it “was really hard to talk to someone”.

She says: “It felt like I was talking to a bot.”

With Guardian Money’s help, she has now got her money back.

A Vinted spokesperson said: “The vast majority of transactions on Vinted take place without issue, and our teams work hard to ensure a smooth trading experience for all our Vinted members.

“When a dispute does occur between a buyer and a seller, we will mediate, working closely with our delivery partners and potentially asking for additional information or evidence, before issuing a final decision.”

If appealing to the marketplace directly goes nowhere, there are other things you can do.

If you used a debit card ask your bank to make a chargeback claim. Alternatively, if you paid by credit card, try a section 75 claim – this is only an option if you have spent more than £100. If you paid by bank transfer it is more complicated, but you may be entitled to a refund under new fraud refund protections.