You’ve probably heard horror stories of people getting scammed trying to buy things on Facebook Marketplace. But now it’s happening to sellers. Some people using the Facebook Marketplace have fallen victim to the evil Zelle scam while trying to earn extra cash by innocently selling items on the site.
Recent research from Verified Over the past year, we’ve seen a 184% increase in fraud on Facebook Marketplace. If you think that’s bad, Zelle’s fraud also increased him by 86%.
What is fraud on Facebook Marketplace?
Zelle scams, especially on Facebook Marketplace, are related to phishing emails. Scammers aim to trick site buyers into responding to these phishing emails impersonating Zelle.
First, contact the seller and ask if you can use Zelle to pay for the product. Zelle has grown in popularity over the years as a fast money transfer method, so most people accept the deal. However, scammers will repeatedly ask if the seller has received the payment after “sending” it. If the seller does not receive her Zelle notification, the scammer asks the seller to check her spam folder. Lo and behold, a fake girlfriend Zelle email disguised as a legitimate her Zelle notification is waiting in the seller’s spam folder, waiting for them to open it and get hacked.
How can I prevent this from happening to me?
There are always a few things to keep in mind to avoid falling for social media scams.
- Stop accepting payments from services such as Venmo, Zelle, and Cash App. While these services are convenient, they don’t offer the same protections as services such as Facebook Checkout and PayPal.
- If someone asks for your personal information, it’s a scam. Don’t give out personal information to people you haven’t met online, like your phone number, address, or banking information.
- Don’t accept gift card payments: If you are asked to pay for your item with a Visa, American Express, or other type of gift card, it may be a scam.
- Do not pay in advance: If someone online is asking for an advance payment to keep the item, it’s a scam.
- Always check your email address: If you receive a notification from a site that looks like Zelle, it should not have your personal email address attached, such as Gmail or Yahoo.
- Look for red flags. spelling and grammatical errors, etc.
- Do not click on suspicious links. If you accidentally open a spam email from these hackers, do not click on any links in the email. Personal information can be hacked. Run antivirus software on your device to avoid accidentally clicking malicious links. Pick the best antivirus software here.
Additionally, be wary of deals that seem too good and always research the seller thoroughly before buying.
Has anyone been scammed using Facebook Marketplace? Please tell us what happened. We look forward to hearing from you.
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