Are you looking to sell a couch, buy lightly used patio furniture or offload the baby swing sitting in your basement for years? Facebook’s Marketplace is a one-stop platform that lets you do all of this – connecting you to members of your community outside of your friend network, enabling you to buy and sell items online through a simple post.
This is a modern day classified category supported with photos and a real-time chat function. Using Facebook Marketplace seems to be the easiest and simplest way to buy items and pocket some cash that you no longer need.
But Facebook Marketplace can be a great place to deal, not without its disadvantages. For example, it hosts an unauthorized member network and is vulnerable to scammers who may see it as a fertile ground for cons and identity theft.
It’s still worth using to pick a deal on something you need or want. However, make sure you avoid reading online scammers who set up shop in the marketplace.
6 Common Facebook Marketplace Scams
1. The buyer or seller is paying or communicating outside of Facebook
Beware of buyers and sellers who insist on communication or payment outside of Facebook’s official channel. It is best to use only Facebook Checkout, PayPal or other payment methods that are supported by a guarantee or payment dispute.
Avoid a wire transfer or Venmo deposit so hold an item that you have not physically seen and know that the seller is in possession of them.
2. The product is undoubtedly cheap.
Facebook Marketplace is great for a bargain, but it can also mean that there are some suspiciously low priced items Duplicate or pirated. If a seller asks well below a reasonable price, they are more likely to do something.
Before making a purchase, it may be wise to check the seller’s profile for negative reviews and to avoid creating new accounts without a review. Before purchasing you should be asked to view the item in multiple photos, a video or even a public place.
3. The seller requests advance payment.
You will not agree to pay any deposit in advance without first receiving the item you purchased. This type of scam is known as a “reservation” or “pay-in-advance” scheme, and is easy to fall for because it catches a buyer’s desire not to miss a sale. In this situation, the seller may say that the item is popular, and a deposit is required to secure your space. Don’t read for this one – no deal it’s worth.
4. The person you are connecting to has a brand new account
Fake accounts are a problem in the Facebook Marketplace, as they can be used to scam information and steal credit cards from home. Before making a purchase, take a closer look at the seller’s profile and note when it was created. Brand-new accounts are a red flag. If your contact’s Facebook page is too short and looks new, you’ve found a fake account.
5. Your contact has paid extra ৷
One The common scam is to pay extra For a product, either by presenting a fake payment confirmation or by pretending to do so using stolen funds. In this situation, fraudsters ask for the difference to be returned, often disappearing before the truth is revealed that they have a fraudulent account. Marketplace vendors may refuse additional payments and protect themselves using Facebook-approved payment methods such as PayPal and Facebook Checkout.
6. Buyers ask you to send a “code” to verify your identity
This clever scam enables fraudsters to set up a number using your Google Voice account Here’s how: The scammer asks for your phone number and sends you a code to verify you’re a real person. But once they have your number, they use it to set up a Google Voice account. The code they sent came from Google and was intended to verify the creation of a Google Voice account for that phone number. A scammer can then use your newly created Google Voice account to communicate and scam other people under your identity.
Facebook offers some tips to help protect its buyers and sellers from marketplace scams and a wide range. Resources page With instructions on how to buy and sell responsibly on the platform. Facebook also offers purchase protection for eligible items to use Facebook Pay This function stops paying the seller until the buyer identifies an item as received. Then, when there is a problem with an item or the seller does not deliver, the buyer can get a refund.
But if you want to be a frequent Facebook Marketplace user or shop online in general, you should consider buying identity theft and credit protection to help keep you safe.
Facebook Marketplace can be a great place to sell products, but a lot of times a lot may not be true.
