Selling on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace? Watch Out for These Scams

How to Spot Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace Scams

Craigslist itself warns users that they're entirely on their own when it comes to vetting their trading partners. The site makes no attempt to screen advertisers. Instead, it relies on "flagging" of unsavory listings by the user community. If a listing receives too many flags from other users, it is taken down automatically. But this self-policing does not catch all scams. And of course it can't catch the creeps and crooks who respond to the legitimate ads.

The same crooks who used to lurk on Craigslist have spread out to Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, Nextdoor, and just about every local “buy and sell” app. The platforms have changed, but the goal is the same: separate honest buyers and sellers from their cash, their stuff, or their identity. Whether you're selling a lawnmower, a laptop, or a late-model SUV, you can expect the schmeckpepers to show up and test your defenses.

The number one thing you can do to protect yourself is "deal locally with people you can meet in person." That advice comes from the Craigslist FAQ about scams. That sage advice applies to other online marketplaces as well. If you send money or goods to someone far away, there is very little you can do if you get nothing in return. By dealing face to face, you will avoid 99% of scam attempts.

Unlike eBay, Craigslist offers no verification of sellers' and buyers' identities; no "buyer protection" in case the goods are not delivered; no escrow service; and no guarantees of any transaction. It's 100% buyer beware. Similarly, no standard identity verification exists for buyers on Facebook Marketplace. Nextdoor requires basic account verification through email and physical address, but it does not offer identity verification for individual sellers or buyers on its marketplace.

Sellers who ask you to send money in advance via Western Union or bank wire transfer should be avoided, and flagged. There is no way to get your money back when you pay via these methods, and in most cases you will not get anything in return.

Payment Apps and ‘Verification Code’ Scams

Here are some quick clues that your “buyer” is really a scammer. They want to pay with Zelle, Cash App, Venmo, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, or gift cards. They insist on overpaying, then ask you to refund the difference. They cannot meet in person, or they keep changing the story about where they are and why. They push you to move the conversation off the site to text, WhatsApp, or Telegram. Consider any one of these your cue to block and move on.

One common ploy is the verification code trick: the scammer pretends they want to make sure you are a real person, then asks you to read them a six-digit code that just came to your phone. That code is not for you, it is a password-reset or sign-in code that lets them hijack an account in your name. Legitimate buyers never need your one-time codes.

If you're selling online, it may seem safe to accept cashier's checks or money orders through the mail. But counterfeit cashier's checks and money orders can come back to bite you weeks after your bank told you the funds had cleared. Sometimes it can cost you a lot more than the face amount of the check.

My Personal Scam Stories

I posted several items of furniture for sale on Craigslist. And within minutes, I started getting emails from people with strange sounding names, asking if the item was still available. One person's name was (I kid you not) "Schmeckpeper Ayuso". That should have been the only red flag I needed, but I responded to that person, and got this in reply:

"i would have love to come and see it, but my scheduled is very tight. I will mail out yor payment once you provide your full name, phone number and addresse. I can only pay via money order as am on a business trip now, pls let me know where to send your payment to because i wouldn't want to lose it to some else. I don't mind adding ($50) dollars so you can keep it in my favor. i will appreciate if you can get the ad off craigslist so i can be sure you are keeping it in my favor. Please let me know as soon as you receive it so i can start making arrangement for the pick-up."

Turns out the wording of this reply is almost identical to other messages commonly sent by overseas scammers. Here's how the scam often plays out: One Craigslist seller received a check for $2,500 from a foreign buyer, instead of the $250 they had agreed upon. The buyer said there had been a "terrible mistake" made by her bookkeeper, and asked the seller to wire back the excess funds. She even told the seller to keep an extra $100 for the trouble. The check, of course, was counterfeit, and the seller would have been scammed out of $2150 if they had wired funds to the crook. I'm sure I would have been Schmeckpepered if I had gone ahead with that sketchy deal.

I did get scammed once, by a "mobile mechanic" offering repair services on Nextdoor. Mike came to my home, checked out my car, and told me he could repair my exhaust system for a temptingly low price. He asked for $100 "to cover parts" so I foolishly obliged, and Mike disappeared without a trace.

More Scam Avoidance Tips

Beware of any seller who requests personal financial information such as a bank account number, credit card number, or Paypal email address. Identity theft is often one of the objects of Craigslist scams.

Likewise, if you are applying for a job listed on Craigslist, do not cooperate in any background or credit check until you have had a face-to-face interview and verified that the employer is legitimate. The information you provide to enable a background check may be used to steal your identity.

Housing rentals are another favorite Craigslist scam. It's amazing how many people hand over hundreds or thousands of dollars in deposits and rent without ever seeing the inside of a rental property. A lot of people have rented homes from scammers who didn't even have the right to rent the properties! They show up and find the home or apartment is already occupied, and the scammer is long gone.

A friend of mine warned about a Craiglist scam where the "buyer" emails the seller a link to view a web page or watch a video "to make sure it's the item I want to buy." Don't click... or you'll wind up a victim of some nasty virus that will wreak havoc on your computer.

If a buyer offers to pay MORE than the asking price, run away fast. But likewise, if a seller is offering a price that's way too LOW, that's another big red flag. I've seen scams on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and Nextdoor in which a car is offered for sale at a price that's just ridiculously low. The seller may claim they're being deployed for military service, or the car belonged to their ex-husband and they just want to get rid of it. They'll make up some reason why you can't see the car in person, and try to persuade you to send a deposit or the full amount before taking possession.

Do a reverse image search for photos of cars, rentals, or other high-value items to spot reused images from other listings. A reverse image search may show the item offered by a legitmate seller.

Be wary also of concert or event tickets sold on Craigslist. It's too easy for scammers to offer fake tickets that look like the real thing. Instead go to Ticketmaster or StubHub where the tickets are validated and guaranteed to be legitimate.

Employment and Freelance Job Scams: Job offers promising unrealistic salaries may tempt job seekers, but in this scam, the applicants are told they need to pay for training or background checks. These jobs don't actually exist. On the flipside, some scammers will post ads for freelance workers. After the job is completed, they refuse to pay, claiming that the work was incomplete or unsatisfactory.

Poor spelling, confused grammar, odd-sounding names, and long rambling replies are a hallmark of Craigslist scammers. Beware of anyone who wants to pay with a money order or a check, even a certified check, as they can be easily forged. And if you're buying or selling something that costs a significant amount of money, always have a friend with you when meeting the other party, and do it in a public place where video cameras are present. Some police stations encourage people to use their facilities for this purpose. See SafeTrade Stations to find a safe trading location near you. There are hundreds of SafeTrade locations listed there, including one at North Pole, Alaska! A scammer is much less likely to participate in a fraudulent deal if they know they're being watched.

If you're not sure a listing is legit, reddit.com/r/scams is a good place to sanity-check suspicious offers.

As I mentioned before, many of these same scams can play out on Nextdoor, Facebook Marketplace, or sell-your-stuff sites like OfferUp or Poshmark. The bottom line is "buyer (and seller) beware" if you don't want to get Schmeckpepered.

Have you been scammed on Craigslist, or another local online marketplace? Post your comment or question below...