Guide for buyers and sellers

How to avoid scams on Facebook Marketplace

About 6 minutes to read

Facebook Marketplace is easy to use, which is exactly why scammers like it. There is no built-in protection for most local sales, and payment often goes straight from one stranger to another. Most scams follow a handful of patterns. Once you know them, they are easy to spot.

Scams that target buyers

The item that does not exist

The listing has great photos and a low price. The seller says lots of people are interested and asks for a deposit or full payment by bank transfer to "hold" it. Once you pay, they stop replying. The photos were often copied from another listing.

How to protect yourself: never pay before seeing the item unless the payment is protected. Search the photos with a reverse image search. Be wary of prices far below what the item usually sells for.

Payment off the platform

The seller asks you to pay by bank transfer or by sending money "to friends and family". These payments usually have no buyer protection, so if the item never comes, there is little you can do to get your money back.

The fake delivery link

You are sent a link to a "courier" or "payment" page to arrange delivery. It looks real but is a copy, built to take your card details. Do not enter card details on a link someone sends you in a chat.

Scams that target sellers

The fake payment screenshot

A buyer sends a screenshot or an email saying they have paid and asks you to post the item straight away. The money never arrives. Always check your own bank or payment account before sending anything.

The overpayment

A buyer "accidentally" pays too much and asks you to send the difference back. Later the original payment is reversed, and you have lost the item and the money you sent.

The verification code request

A buyer asks you to read out a code that has just been texted to you, "to prove you are real". That code can let them take over one of your accounts. Never share a code sent to your phone.

Signs that something is a scam

• A price that is far too good for the item
• Pressure to decide or pay quickly
• A request to move the chat or the payment somewhere else
• A brand-new profile with no history or friends
• A story about being abroad, in the forces or unable to meet

If you have been scammed

Contact your bank straight away; some payments can be stopped or recovered if you act fast. Report the profile and the listing to Facebook. In the UK, you can also report fraud to Action Fraud.

A safer way to buy and sell online

Almost every scam above works because one person has to trust the other with money or goods first. Bothsure removes that step. The buyer pays Bothsure, the seller posts with tracking, and the money is released only when the item has arrived as described.