How to avoid marketplace scams.

Most fake buyers on Facebook Marketplace are after one of three things: a verification code sent to your phone, your item before any real money arrives, or a “refund” of money they never paid. You can avoid marketplace scams, whether you’re selling or buying, with a few habits: keep the conversation in Marketplace, meet in a public place, treat money as real only when you can see it in your own bank or payment app, and never share a code, accept a check from a stranger or pay with a gift card, wire transfer or crypto.

How to spot a fake buyer on Facebook Marketplace

Scammers work from scripts, so the same moves show up in listing after listing. One of the signs below is a reason to slow down. Two or more, and you can stop replying.

• They answer within moments of your listing going up, then skip questions about the item and go straight to how they’ll pay.
• They want to leave Marketplace chat for text, WhatsApp or email, often with an excuse about Messenger not working.
• They ask for your phone number, then for a code that they say proves you’re a real seller.
• They can’t come in person. A mover, cousin or courier will collect the item once they’ve “paid.”
• Their payment is an email, a screenshot or a link, never money you can see in your own account.
• They pay more than your price and ask you to send back the difference.
• They send a link or QR code for you to accept the payment, confirm shipping or verify your account.
• The profile tells you nothing. The account is new, has no photo of a real person and shows no Marketplace history or ratings.

Five fake-buyer scripts and what’s really going on

These are paraphrased versions of the scripts sellers run into most. The wording changes from week to week; the goal behind each one doesn’t.

The “confirm you’re real” code

What they say: “I’ve been scammed before, so I’m sending a code to your phone. Just tell me what it says so I know you’re legit.”

What’s going on: the code often comes from Google Voice. Reading it back lets the scammer tie your phone number to a Google Voice account they control and use it to run other scams. Other versions ask for a login code that opens one of your own accounts. The FTC’s rule is blunt: anyone who asks for your verification code is a scammer.

What to do: don’t share it, whatever the story. If you already did, Google’s help page on protecting your verification code explains how to disconnect your number from Google Voice. For other code-grab messages, see our guide to text message scams.

The fake payment email

What they say: “I sent the money through Zelle. Check your email: it’s on hold until you upgrade to a business account.” A second email sometimes follows, claiming the buyer paid extra for your “upgrade” and wants it back.

What’s going on: there is no payment. Anyone can make an email look like it came from Zelle, PayPal, Venmo or Cash App, and the fee, the upgrade or the refund is the scam itself.

What to do: open your banking or payment app yourself, not a link in the email, and hand over nothing until the money is there.

The overpayment “mistake”

What they say: “My assistant wrote the check for $900 instead of $400. Can you deposit it and send me the extra $500?” The same trick works with a cashier’s check, a money order or an app payment.

What’s going on: the payment is fake, stolen or about to be reversed, and the money you send back is your own. The FTC warns that fake checks can take weeks to be discovered, and that funds showing in your account don’t mean the check is good. By the time it bounces, the scammer has your refund and the bank wants its money back from you.

What to do: don’t take checks from strangers, and never send back an “extra.” If an app payment really did arrive by mistake, let your bank or the app handle the return.

The courier, mover or shipping link

What they say: “I’m out of town, but my mover will pick it up. I’ve already paid the delivery company. You just need to pay the insurance fee on this link to release the money.”

What’s going on: the “delivery company” is a fake site built to take a fee or collect your card number or bank login. A buyer who never shows up in person is also a buyer you never get to size up.

What to do: never enter card or bank details to receive money. Keep local items local, and for shipped items use Marketplace checkout where it’s offered and ship only to the address on the order.

The quick “still available” message that goes nowhere

What they say: “Is this still available?” seconds after you post, followed by silence, a generic reply that ignores your answer, or “Text me at this number.”

What’s going on: the opener proves nothing by itself. Availability questions are so routine that Facebook now lets sellers send automatic replies to them, and plenty of real buyers start that way. The warning sign is what comes next: accounts that message every new listing at once are fishing for phone numbers, email addresses or clicks, not your item.

What to do: answer inside Marketplace and wait for a real question about the item. Facebook also shows warnings in Marketplace chats when a message follows known scam patterns, so read them instead of tapping past.

Scams that target buyers

When you’re the one paying, the scammer wants your money before you’ve seen anything real. Watch for these setups:

• A deposit to hold the item. A seller with “lots of interest” wants a Zelle or Venmo deposit before you visit. You can decline a deposit request. Willingness to wait does not prove that the account or listing is genuine.
• Shipping only, for something you could pick up. Furniture, a car or a pet that can only be shipped because the seller is traveling or deployed. The story exists to keep you from seeing the item.
• A price well below similar listings, especially on phones, game consoles, event tickets and rentals.
• A rental you can’t tour. Anyone who wants a deposit or an application fee before showing you the inside may not own the place.
• An item that won’t survive a test. Counterfeits, locked phones and broken electronics. Ask for the serial number in advance and test before you pay.

For anything expensive, work through our online seller check before you pay. For rentals, our guide to how to find the owner of a property shows how to confirm who owns a property. If you’ll be sharing the place, our questions to ask a potential roommate cover rent, the lease and house rules.

What is the safest payment method for Facebook Marketplace?

For a local sale, cash handed over in person is the simplest safe option: sellers count it before letting the item go, and buyers inspect the item before paying. For a shipped item, pay through Marketplace checkout when the listing offers it, so the purchase stays inside Facebook’s own process. Every other method comes down to two questions: can you confirm the money is real, and can it be pulled back?

One rule covers every row: money is real only when it shows up in your own bank or payment app, opened by you. Screenshots, emails and texts are not payments. The FTC’s online shopping advice adds that a credit card gives you the most protection if something goes wrong, and warns against buying from any seller who insists on gift cards, wire transfers, a payment app or cryptocurrency. And once an app payment goes out, the FTC notes, it’s hard to get it back. PayPal’s own Purchase Protection terms list which payments qualify.

How to check a buyer or seller before you meet

You can’t fully verify a stranger on Marketplace, but you can test whether their story holds together. Do this before you share an address or drive anywhere.

1. Open their profile and Marketplace history. Look at when they joined Facebook, their ratings and past listings, and whether the account looks lived in, with a profile photo, friends and posts from before this week.
2. Weigh a Facebook Verified badge correctly. Facebook began rolling out this free badge in July 2026, starting in select markets. It means the person passed a selfie check, and Meta’s announcement is clear that it doesn’t mean Facebook endorses them. It helps against fake accounts; it doesn’t make a payment safe.
3. Ask something only an owner could answer. How old is it, why are you selling it, and can you send a photo of the serial number, or of the item next to a note with today’s date? Bots and people using stolen photos stall.
4. Keep every message in Marketplace chat. That leaves a record Facebook can review if you report the person, and it’s where Facebook’s scam warnings appear.
5. If they gave you a full name, see whether it fits. A name search can show whether a person with that name exists and whether details such as their city match their story. Treat a match as one clue, not proof.

If the chat has already moved to WhatsApp, Telegram or Messenger outside Marketplace, our guide on how to identify a scammer covers the clues each app shows.

Check a seller’s name

How to meet up safely

• Choose a public place with cameras. Many police departments set aside a lobby or marked parking spaces as a safe exchange zone; call your local non-emergency line to ask.
• Go in daylight and bring someone. Tell a friend where you’re going and who you’re meeting.
• Keep your home private for small items. For furniture or appliances, move the item near the door and have someone with you.
• Inspect and test before money changes hands. Power on electronics, check that a phone isn’t locked to someone else’s account, and compare serial numbers with the listing.
• Bring only the agreed amount, and count cash where you can both see it.
• For a car or another big purchase, meet at a bank. The buyer can withdraw cash or get a cashier’s check from a teller in front of you, so you know it’s genuine.
• Walk away if the plan changes at the last minute: a new place, a different person or a new way to pay.

What to do if you were scammed on Marketplace

Deal with the money first, then report. Before you block anyone, take screenshots of the listing, the profile and the whole conversation; scam accounts often vanish once they’re reported.

Then report it in three places: to Facebook, from the conversation or the person’s profile; to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov; and to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov if you lost money. The FTC’s page on what to do if you were scammed lists what to ask for with each payment method. If a stranger later offers to recover the money for a fee, that’s another scam.

Before you post your next listing

A few habits make you a harder target as a seller. Leave your phone number, email and address out of the listing and the photos, including house numbers and mail in the background. Answer only inside Marketplace. And if scammers seem to know more about you than they should, see what a stranger can find under your name; full reports require a paid plan, including when you search yourself. Removing your own listing is free. Our guide to protecting your personal information online covers the rest, from your phone number to your credit.