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Been using Marketplace for 5 years with probably +100 items sold. Scammers in my experience usually exhibit these traits: * They have a new account, and have

Been using Marketplace for 5 years with probably +100 items sold. Scammers in my experience usually exhibit these traits: * They have a new account, and have no Marketplace reviews. * They want it shipped and will pay extra for shipping. (While some real sellers will want it shipped, most will come by to pick it up.) * They do not try to low ball you or even negotiate. (Facebook sellers are notoriously cheap.) * There is a sense of urgency and very responsive to messages. (Most Facebook sellers are not instantly responsive as they have a life.) I have also seen scam sellers appear as well. They sort of do the same thing: * The price for the items are amazing, a steal. * They always ship, often for free. You can never pick it up. * They are very responsible to any messages. * The account is new.

sandyarmstrong 3y ago
Interesting. I wonder what the author should have done differently. Second paragraph in the article is: > I bought the camera from a profile that was created in 2017. They had some other things for sale, too. The account looked legit — lots of family photos and comments from family members.
- bombcar 3y ago
  I still think of https://xkcd.com/325/ https://xkcd.com/325/ often (bobcat) as especially when dealing with companies/individuals. You could outright scam one in twenty and be 95% perfect/good.
  - cutemonster 3y ago
    Or scam only when selling something expensive
JohnnyD10 3y ago
There's another red flag I've seen: buyers ask to pre-pay on the spot without having seen the item. They usually want to use Zelle or Venmo, and say they're going to have a relative come pickup the item.
- jayrobin 3y ago
  Happened to me the other day. I got a weird feeling when they responded with a long message within seconds of me messaging (maybe it’s partially automated?), then when they wanted to pay upfront with Zelle and asked for my email I knew it was a scam. At that point they’d send you a fake Zelle/Venmo phishing email, saying you need to upgrade to a business account, or “login” and do something else to accept the payment.
  - Symbiote 3y ago
    It's helpful being outside the USA. Many scammers are easier to spot. Profile pictures are obviously American, and often show more breast than face. Instant replies. Quickly ask for an unusual payment method which no local would use. Write in the local language (machine translated) and don't switch to English if I write in English.
- dawnerd 3y ago
  I had an eBay sell once for an expensive camera and the buyer asked if I could change into pickup and have a relative pick it up. Was suuuuuuuper sus but because it was local and paid through eBay I figured sure let’s see where it goes. Went totally fine. Had the person sign a an invoice not that it would do anything on the eBay front. Scammers know it’s hard to judge sometimes. Heck there’s always the risk someone just comes and runs off without paying. Now on marketplace I say cash only in person in public and when the person shows up then I offer Zelle or cash whatever. That seems to have stopped most of the automatic scam attempts.
- burningChrome 3y ago
  The Zelle thing is a huge red flag for me. I almost got scammed by a couple on Facebook Marketplace. They had a Mac Mini they were selling for about $20 less than the going rate I had found on ebay so I initiated contact and we agreed on the price. I asked how they do payment, Paypal, Venmo, Stripe? None of the above. The husband kept telling me sob stories about why they don't use any of them - only Zelle. I was like, I don't have that, and I'm not setting up another payment app just for one purchase. That's when the scam and the sketchy feelings started creeping into my brain. They told me to go get a prepaid card, and then send it and they'll ship the Mac Mini when they get it. They were a few cities over and just like OP said, they didn't want to arrange a pickup. I was like, "Yeah, fuck that, you send the PC first and THEN I'll send the money." Then the husband told me if they were going to do that, I can just scratch off the security label and send then the code for safe keeping, and then they'll send the Mac Mini when they get the code. That was the last straw - I told them to fuck off and go scam someone else. I got few nasty texts from the husband before blocking them. Scammers use Zelle because nobody else uses it, which then forces people to go to great lengths to get something and will start to jump through hoops. I was wondering how many other people this couple had scammed before I contacted them.
ssss11 3y ago
Yeah on marketplace I always do the “pick up only, cash only” thing. The scammers try to talk me into some other arrangement but if I hold to it they disappear.

sandyarmstrong 3y ago

Interesting. I wonder what the author should have done differently. Second paragraph in the article is: > I bought the camera from a profile that was created in 2017. They had some other things for sale, too. The account looked legit — lots of family photos and comments from family members.

bombcar 3y ago
I still think of https://xkcd.com/325/ https://xkcd.com/325/ often (bobcat) as especially when dealing with companies/individuals. You could outright scam one in twenty and be 95% perfect/good.
- cutemonster 3y ago
  Or scam only when selling something expensive

JohnnyD10 3y ago

There's another red flag I've seen: buyers ask to pre-pay on the spot without having seen the item. They usually want to use Zelle or Venmo, and say they're going to have a relative come pickup the item.

jayrobin 3y ago
Happened to me the other day. I got a weird feeling when they responded with a long message within seconds of me messaging (maybe it’s partially automated?), then when they wanted to pay upfront with Zelle and asked for my email I knew it was a scam. At that point they’d send you a fake Zelle/Venmo phishing email, saying you need to upgrade to a business account, or “login” and do something else to accept the payment.
- Symbiote 3y ago
  It's helpful being outside the USA. Many scammers are easier to spot. Profile pictures are obviously American, and often show more breast than face. Instant replies. Quickly ask for an unusual payment method which no local would use. Write in the local language (machine translated) and don't switch to English if I write in English.
dawnerd 3y ago
I had an eBay sell once for an expensive camera and the buyer asked if I could change into pickup and have a relative pick it up. Was suuuuuuuper sus but because it was local and paid through eBay I figured sure let’s see where it goes. Went totally fine. Had the person sign a an invoice not that it would do anything on the eBay front. Scammers know it’s hard to judge sometimes. Heck there’s always the risk someone just comes and runs off without paying. Now on marketplace I say cash only in person in public and when the person shows up then I offer Zelle or cash whatever. That seems to have stopped most of the automatic scam attempts.
burningChrome 3y ago
The Zelle thing is a huge red flag for me. I almost got scammed by a couple on Facebook Marketplace. They had a Mac Mini they were selling for about $20 less than the going rate I had found on ebay so I initiated contact and we agreed on the price. I asked how they do payment, Paypal, Venmo, Stripe? None of the above. The husband kept telling me sob stories about why they don't use any of them - only Zelle. I was like, I don't have that, and I'm not setting up another payment app just for one purchase. That's when the scam and the sketchy feelings started creeping into my brain. They told me to go get a prepaid card, and then send it and they'll ship the Mac Mini when they get it. They were a few cities over and just like OP said, they didn't want to arrange a pickup. I was like, "Yeah, fuck that, you send the PC first and THEN I'll send the money." Then the husband told me if they were going to do that, I can just scratch off the security label and send then the code for safe keeping, and then they'll send the Mac Mini when they get the code. That was the last straw - I told them to fuck off and go scam someone else. I got few nasty texts from the husband before blocking them. Scammers use Zelle because nobody else uses it, which then forces people to go to great lengths to get something and will start to jump through hoops. I was wondering how many other people this couple had scammed before I contacted them.

ssss11 3y ago

Yeah on marketplace I always do the “pick up only, cash only” thing. The scammers try to talk me into some other arrangement but if I hold to it they disappear.