Every sphere is full of scams and the Facebook marketplace is also not untouched by it. So, it is very important for you to be aware of all these scams and follow the right set of rules.
In this article, we will be detailing the Facebook marketplace scams.
What are Facebook marketplace scams?
Facebook is a social networking site that majorly deals with the interaction of people hence, the Facebook marketplace shoppers have more direct interaction with the sellers. This more frequent interaction creates opportunities for scammers to plot victims into a number of scams.
More than a billion people use Facebook where many fraudsters are using Facebook Marketplace to steal people’s hard-earned cash, making it a breeding ground for scams.
These scams may look believable, but contain certain knell that makes them easier to spot.
Here are a number of the foremost common Facebook marketplace scams you would possibly encounter. These are the means through which scammers often try to steal your money.
- Selling forged items: A seller will offer branded items at discounted prices. Often when sellers offer tech items on a lower price than its actual it’s more probably a broken or faulty device. Similarly if a branded item is offered for lower price you should be aware that it would either be bootlegged or stolen maybe. Facebook Marketplace is usually filled with counterfeit items with prices distrustfully below market print. In addition to looking up the typical price of an item beforehand, you should be focusing more on the negative reviews on the sellers profile.And even you are recommended to give a view at a video of the item before purchasing.
- Mail scams: In usual Facebook marketplace scams the shipping scams are when a seller requests the shipping payment first, later it is known that the item is never received. When purchasing items through Facebook Marketplace buyers usually stand with the risk of not receiving the items they had paid for, either they don’t get delivery or a delivery that they hadn’t paid for. It is recommended to use Facebook Marketplace’s filters to constrict your search to the items available for local fetch, and it is also advised to meet the seller in a public area where there is proper visibility so that you can examine the product before paying. If you receive an item by mail, then it is suggested to request a shipping tracking number and pay usually with methods which are supported by Facebook such as PayPal or Facebook Checkout to fortify your purchase. Facebook Marketplace scams are more cunning than you expect.
- Payment scams: Whenever a buyer overpay for an item a refund of the overpayment is given back. The thing is simple, but in this scam you will find a buyer using a check for the payment. With a check, the buyer attempts to trick the seller by sending deceptive payment. The unaware seller would send back the refund and only realize later that the check received would bounce. If we check the other side then for the items, in which the seller requests an advance payment to secure the goods is while you can get tricked as the seller might never send your item. So, unless you’ve got the item you should ignore such requests.
- Facebook marketplace car scams: car deposit scams are fairly common types of payment scams. In this scam the seller first asks you to deposit or down-payment. After the money is received the seller will provide a fake address to pick your car up. It is suggested to do your research ahead of time by checking Kelley Blue Book or other trusted sites to learn what you should expect to pay. Facebook’s Help Center also recommends requesting a vehicle history report from the Federal Trade Commission and scheduling a car inspection before buying.
How to recognize a Facebook scammer?
Facebook marketplace scams are growing fast but social engineering is involved in making this scam possible though spotting a Facebook scammer isn’t as hard as you think. The majority of times the deal you think is too good to go is the one involving a scam. All the above suggestions should also be kept in mind while surfing through Facebook Marketplace.
Now, the question is how to prevent yourself from not getting scammed on the Facebook marketplace,
Here’s what you need to do to avoid Facebook marketplace scams.
- It is advised to use official payment methods for payments and using the Facebook checkout service or PayPal is a good choice for any item.
- Always give attention to seller ratings. The star ratings are there for a purpose and no matter how great the good seems to be you should not trust it if the star rating is not good.
- Never accept overpayment: never trust any buyer or seller for such a reason.
- You should always be aware of malware scams. Mainly the cybercriminals will redirect a link it might be some malware hence you should never click on such.
If these scams are so prevalent then can you trust the Facebook marketplace?
Facebook marketplace is a safe site until you know how to recognize such scams as being one of the biggest tech giant frauds. Common users need to be aware of the red signals.
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Facebook, being the social media giant that it is, has its justifiable share of cybercriminals to affect.
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