Facebook marketplace scams have become issues for users nowadays that harm them financially and personally. A social media platform, Facebook, has become a hub of connections of unknown or known individual users. Further, scammers find this social media platform as a scamming platform due to its vast audience of 2.9 billion. They target innocent users to make them fall into fraudulent activities and harm their assets. In this article, we will tell you about some common Facebook marketplace scams and how you can avoid them.
What are Facebook Marketplace Scams?
Facebook marketplace scams are a term that refers to seller scams on a specific social media platform, Facebook. Scammers target innocent people by utilizing appealing offers and asking for advanced money transactions to get their card numbers. They utilize this process to acquire their card details for fraudulent activities and steal their money.
Common Facebook Marketplace Scams & How to Avoid
This is the nature of Facebook: scams may hit both buyers and sellers to pay from your wallets. Users must know about some common Facebook marketplace scams to avoid falling into some fraudulent activities like buying something prohibited. In this section, we have compiled a list of some common Facebook marketplace scams and how to avoid them.
- Fake Giveaways
- Asking to Be Paid in Gift Cards
- Counterfeit Items
- Faulty Products
- Rental Scams
- Lost Package Claims
- Overpayment Scams
Fake Giveaways
A giveaway is a promotional process for something new in the market or for an older one to get recognition. Have you ever received a message telling you that you have won a product X or a prize of X? A giveaway works on the basis of provided information before the chosen member. Revise in your mind: have you ever signed up for a giveaway? If not, then don’t reply to that message. It’s a scam.
You should utilize efficient anti-virus software that will provide anti-phishing by adding an extra layer of protection to your account. Moreover, you can install some amazing anti-virus that includes anti-phishing features to enhance security against malware activities.
Asking to Be Paid in Gift Cards
Another common fraudulent activity is requesting money from users for gifts. They ask for this because tracing gift card transactions is quite difficult, unlike tracing credit and debit cards. Once users have sent the payment, there is no one or a way that can get your money back. The best and only way to avoid this type of fraud is to never engage in this type of activity.
Counterfeit Items
Imagine you are going to buy something from the Facebook marketplace, and some seller tells you to pay differently. Don’t ever engage with him in this activity because this is a fraudulent activity to know your card details. They may counterfeit with a less payable amount to make your mind and make you fall into a fraudulent activity.
You need to avoid paying in any type of different payable attempt to avoid falling into some fraudulent activity. Further, they may send you unreal products that are not that costly and hit you with costly prices.
Read Also: QR Code Scams: How to Identify and Stay Safe
Faulty Products
This is some sort of scam in which sellers send buyers faulty products that are built in two variations. When sellers sell faulty or malfunctioning products and disappear after getting payments from users or buyers, the other type of this scam is when a buyer receives a product that is malfunctioning and claims a refund. Then, the seller may disappear after getting his refund message.
You should make sure that the buyer is genuine and also check the customer reviews before buying anything. This is an efficient way to be secure from these types of scams.
Rental Scams
Fake proposals of residential areas or plots refer to rental scams. Scammers spread faulty news about properties, boats, and more to target some audiences to scam. When a user falls into their faulty news and asks for prices, they demand some amount in advance. If they send them the amount, they will disappear from the platform and will never be traced. To keep yourself aware of these types of scams, you need to investigate the property they are trying to sell you. Moreover, by doing so, you will be free to avoid these types of scams.
Lost Package Claims
When users buy something from the Facebook marketplace, they feel secure while purchasing. What if they ordered a package and never received it after making a payment and claim for a lost package? When the seller receives the message of reclamation, he will disappear and will never return. Therefore, they need to pay for a tracking system within your package to get your package in time. By doing so, you will be capable of saving yourself from any type of fraudulent activity.
Overpayment Scams
Overpayment scams refer to some buyers’ hitting scams that they perform. It is a rare case when a customer pays more to a seller on the Facebook marketplace. Traders need to be aware of these kinds of strategies that turn them into fraudulent activities. The key to avoiding these types of scams is never to accept any extra payment from a buyer. You shouldn’t make assertive and regular transactions with a client continuously to feel safe when you get a payment.
Further, you have to stay forward for many other possibilities of issues that may occur in the journey of loyalty. If they ask for a refund, you should check for the payments that you have received to stay away from scammers.
Final Thoughts
Facebook marketplace scams have become concerns for buyers and sellers, too, because sellers may hit buyers and vice versa. Both of them need to stay aware of new market scams from sellers and buyers. The above-mentioned scams are the most common Facebook marketplace scams that everyone should know. By identifying each scam, you will be able to feel secure and safe because you can avoid them by not falling into them.
