How To Prevent Facebook Marketplace Scams
Facebook Marketplace is a great way to buy and sell goods with people you know. It has been in operation for some time and has become a popular spot for both offline and online trading. However, some scammers try to take advantage of unwary customers by offering bogus goods or requesting money in another manner. Here are some pointers for avoiding fraud:
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Be Careful Before Use Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is a powerful tool for selling and buying goods, but it’s also a great way to get scammed. Here are some things you should keep in mind when using the social media platform, you’ll not be affected by scams from the Facebook marketplace.
- People that are overly eager to offer their goods should be avoided. Be wary of anyone offering to sell you something on Facebook Marketplace that has a low asking price since you can be the victim of a scam. However, if the vendor comes across as overly eager and mentions how much money they require immediately (or even sooner) in their communication, this may be a sign that something is not quite right, and we don’t just mean that they won’t want us off their back. They might also want us off their backs, but let’s hope not.
- Don’t buy from people or pages that don’t have any positive or negative reviews.
- Avoid those pages that are selling branded goods and items from a no branded or non-official page.
- Don’t buy from a page that doesn’t have any warehouse or store.
- A website is an important thing for an online business. If you see a seller that doesn’t have a website then leave them.
Avoid Those things to be safe from scams.
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Low Price Products
The price is too inexpensive. If they can clearly see that an item is worth $1,000, many people will pay that amount, but some individuals will pay double or triple that amount because they think the item is a fake. This is why you ought to constantly review a seller’s profile before making a buy. Be wary if the seller doesn’t have any photographs of the item being offered and has received poor reviews (or if you’re not buying from someone who has been selling on Marketplace for at least six months).
The seller of the products is eager to sell them. While it may seem obvious, many suppliers go to great lengths to get their products out there as soon as possible before anyone else discovers them. Get away from someone if they offer you exactly what you want for an absurdly low price if you want to avoid falling for scams.
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Fake Products Listings
In the situation, you will see many fake listings. A specific page sells many types of products and doesn’t have any audience or selling data. Probably they are scammers, run away from them.
You’ll receive a present from con artists that has nothing to do with your product. It implies that they are stealing money from unwitting customers by selling bogus goods.
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Alternative Payment Methods
Scammers may ask you to use an alternate payment method as a tactic to avoid utilizing Facebook Marketplace’s standard payment options (that is easier for them to get the money from). For instance, they might remark, Send me through Western Union because I don’t currently have access to my PayPal account.
If a seller asks you to pay in an alternative payment method, it’s likely a Facebook marketplace scam. This can include sending you their bank account information and sending them a wire transfer instead of PayPal or Venmo.
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Using Gift Cards Is a Facebook Marketplace Scams
Don’t give someone money if they ask you for a gift card as a payment method on Facebook Marketplace since they’ve probably been the victim of scams on Facebook Marketplace and want to utilize it to defraud more people.
- Don’t use gift cards to pay for items on Facebook Marketplace.
- Don’t pay for items using a gift card.
- Don’t send gift cards to people you don’t know.
- Don’t give out personal information to people you don’t know (like their address or phone number).
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Asking For Valuable Information
In the Facebook marketplace, Scammers can also use your personal information to commit identity theft, fraud, and other forms of illegal activity. For example:
- Your photo ID might be stolen by scammers, who would then use it to create accounts in your name on social media sites. They can then use these accounts to run adverts that appear to have been put by you but are actually scams meant to defraud unsuspecting victims of their money.
- A scammer may pose as an employer or authority figure and ask for sensitive personal information such as bank account details or a credit card number over the phone in order to get this information via text message (SMS). If you give them this info over SMS, there’s no way for you to check if it has been sent successfully before sending any payments yourself — so don’t do this!
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Hurry To Sell
If someone told you that they are selling very fast and they are in hurry, Be sure you are affected by this type of scam.
- Be wary of deals that seem too good to be true or over-priced items being sold by people who claim they’re in a hurry to sell them.
- The scammer will often post an item at a high price, but when you contact him/her, the price will drop significantly because they want your money now, not later. They may even offer a discount on top of what they originally offered if you agree to pay immediately.
- If this happens, keep reading! It’s likely nothing more than an attempt by scammers to get your money before you realize what’s happening and can cancel the transaction.
- As soon as potential customers show interest in their goods, Scammer frequently demands cheaper pricing for them (which is why some sellers list their items with “Buy Now” buttons). They will also inquire once a customer has already made a purchase from them, as well as once more if a different customer agrees to pay a price that is higher than the one that was initially discussed during negotiations.
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Don't Want To Use Facebook Marketplace Checkout?
- Be wary of requests for ways to pay other than through Facebook Marketplace’s checkout system.
- Consider whether you want to use your credit card, or rather gift card, or other payment methods like PayPal otherwise you will fall into the scams.
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Want To Send Money?
Avoid doing these things to avoid falling victim on facebook
- Don’t send any money to the vendor until you receive the specific item that you order.
- Check the product carefully, if all is okay then send money to the vendor.
- Don’t send money if you didn’t receive the item as described.
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Are You Going To Believe In A Stranger?
If you’re meeting a stranger in person after talking on Facebook, be sure to bring a friend with you and meet in a public place. Don’t be afraid to ask for ID or call the police if things start looking shady. If someone offers you something too good to be true, that might be an indication that they’re selling fake goods or services (or both).
Don’t let strangers into your home! This is especially important if there are children present—they can easily get hurt by anything that goes wrong at an event like this.
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A Real Facebook Scam Story
We have something for you. See in the video below, a real-life scams example for you.
