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How I got scammed on Facebook Marketplace (2023)

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Re: How I got scammed on Facebook Marketplace (2023)

#61

Post by nradov »

toss1 wrote: post #46
nradov wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Believe it or not, in most of the USA you can leave a backpack visible in your car and it won't get broken into. It's only some shithole cities where this is a serious problem. So, it's unsurprising that many people would be surprised by that particular type of crime. Online marketplace scams are prevalent pretty much everywhere because the scammers can use fake accounts and are often in another country.

If so, the idea you can safely leave stuff in a car is the triumph of anecdotes over data. Long ago when starting a software & network company, I got a commercial insurance policy on the computer equipment. It covered everything , suprisingly including the usual exceptions such as war, terrorism, Acts Of God, lightning, fire, etc. But, there was ONE thing it did not cover: "Theft from an unattended motor vehicle". I…

Theft from a parked car would typically be covered under an auto or homeowners insurance policy, and most of those contain no such exclusions (although there are limits on covered losses). I don't understand what point you're trying to make by bringing up commercial insurance which is irrelevant to most people.

Re: How I got scammed on Facebook Marketplace (2023)

#62

Post by Gortal278 »

masto wrote: post #58

I like to think I'm pretty scam-savvy, but it only takes a moment of the holes in the swiss cheese aligning. I saw a recreation of a movie prop that looked like a good gift idea for a friend and made an impulse purchase. Something was nagging at the back of my head and a couple of minutes later I had a sinking feeling that it might be a scam -- sure enough, a little research showed that the product photos were stolen…

It's time to move away from Paypal and use a credit card when buying online. Fraud protection with credit cards is much stronger. Paypal has proven itself bad for consumers again and again.

Re: How I got scammed on Facebook Marketplace (2023)

#64

Post by gnicholas »

purpleflame1257 wrote: post #4

When I do FB marketplace I go cash and in-person. It lets you assess the quality of whatever you're buying.

I know others have had good success with FB Marketplace, but man I only see scams. I've posted stuff there and on Nextdoor and CL, and I get 10x the number of scam buyers on FB. I stopped even trying to post stuff there, since it was all chaff and no wheat. Kind of surprising, considering I live in SV, just a few miles from FB HQ. I'd think there would be plenty of legit users here!

Re: How I got scammed on Facebook Marketplace (2023)

#65

Post by bombcar »

sandyarmstrong wrote: post #56
bhouston wrote: post #40

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.) * Ther…

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.

I still think of 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.

Re: How I got scammed on Facebook Marketplace (2023)

#66

Post by geor9e »

quickthrower2 wrote: post #39

How did the scammer close the ticket? Zero day on Paypal? Unlikely for a lowly FB scammer to have this. SMS hijack? Unlikely the OP would have noticed. Phishing? Maybe… could have been a sophisticated phishing attack. Maybe using those fake package delivery SMS messages.

I'm assuming paypal customer service just needs name, address, and phone number to fully authenticate a caller and perform all actions.

Re: How I got scammed on Facebook Marketplace (2023)

#68

Post by JohnnyD10 »

bhouston wrote: post #40

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.) * Ther…

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.

Re: How I got scammed on Facebook Marketplace (2023)

#69

Post by JohnnyD10 »

hasty_pudding wrote: post #42
quickthrower2 wrote: post #39

How did the scammer close the ticket? Zero day on Paypal? Unlikely for a lowly FB scammer to have this. SMS hijack? Unlikely the OP would have noticed. Phishing? Maybe… could have been a sophisticated phishing attack. Maybe using those fake package delivery SMS messages.

They may have a person on the inside. Whats disturbing is Paypal didnt investigate the issue at all.

In this case, but we aren't aware as to whether this got investigated later. I imagine any issues where they lose money they will follow up on.

Re: How I got scammed on Facebook Marketplace (2023)

#70

Post by HellsMaddy »

akelly wrote: post #32

Fake tracking numbers are a common occurrence in scams now. Somehow the scammers are getting access to a database of real time legitimate tracking numbers, they wait until there’s a shipment in their database going to the same city as the buyer, and then use that tracking number to claim that they shipped the package. Maybe they’re paying a real merchant for access to their shipping database? Or are UPS tracking numb…

Maybe one of those sites that come up when you search Google for 'track package' is selling tracking numbers?
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