A friend of mine sold a dresser on Marketplace last month. The "buyer" sent her a Zelle screenshot showing a $275 payment. She checked her phone, saw no notification, but the buyer said it sometimes takes a few minutes. She let them take the dresser. The payment never came. She lost a $275 dresser because she trusted a screenshot instead of checking her actual bank balance.
That one still bothers me because she is not careless. She just did not know this was a thing. And it is everywhere. Marketplace has basically no verification, no escrow, and most deals happen between strangers who meet in a parking lot or never meet at all. Scammers love it.
What gets people is that the scams hit from both directions. Sellers get scammed by fake buyers. Buyers get scammed by fake sellers. Sometimes you get scammed and you do not even realize it for a week.
You list something for $200. A buyer says they will send $350 because their "assistant" made an error and asks you to refund the extra $150. They send a check or a fake payment confirmation. You send $150 of your own real money back. Their payment bounces a few days later. You are out $150 plus whatever you shipped.
The Zelle screenshot version is more common now. They text you a fake confirmation that looks exactly like the real thing. Do not trust screenshots. Open your bank app and check your actual balance. If the money is not there, the money is not there.
A buyer insists on using their own shipping label. You send the item. What you do not know is the label routes the package to a different address than what is in your Marketplace transaction. When the buyer files a claim saying they never got it, tracking shows delivery, but to the wrong address. Facebook sides with the buyer. You lose the item and the money.
Always use your own shipping labels. If a buyer insists on theirs, walk away.
Someone messages you about a listing and says "for safety" they need to verify you are a real person. They ask you to share a code that was just sent to your phone. That code is actually a Google Voice verification code or a two-factor code for one of your accounts. You just handed a stranger the keys to your phone number.
A PS5 for $100. A MacBook for $200. Concert tickets at half price. The photos look real because they are stolen from real listings. The seller wants you to pay via Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, or gift cards before meeting. Once you send money, the listing disappears and the profile gets deleted. I see these every single day.
The seller says a bunch of people want the item and asks you to send a deposit to "hold" it. You send $50 or $100. They stop responding. There was never a real item, or if there was, they were never going to sell it to you.
The listing shows a brand-new item in perfect condition. When you show up, it is damaged, a different model, or counterfeit. The seller pressures you to buy it anyway since you already drove there. If you paid in advance, they tell you the sale is final.
Credit or debit card? Call your bank and dispute it. Facebook checkout? Open a case through their resolution center. Zelle or Venmo? Call their support, but I will be honest, getting money back from person-to-person payments is unlikely.
Either way, report the scammer's profile on Facebook and screenshot everything first: the listing, messages, payment receipts, their profile. File a report with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov too. For the full step-by-step recovery process, see our what to do if you got scammed guide.
Paste it into ScamKit before clicking. If someone sent you a payment link or verification URL, check it first.