You\u2019ve likely heard some horror stories about Craigslist, eBay, or Facebook Marketplace. These marketplaces are similar to in-person flea markets because you can find a wide variety of different things. Except, instead of browsing through a table of goods, you are browsing through listings in an online marketplace.<\/p>\n
Flea markets, whether in-person or online, can be good for certain types of items, such as vintage vinyl records and other collectibles. But flea markets are not good places to buy used tech. When it comes to buying used tech at a flea market, you are likely to end up running into something you want to avoid — scammers and fraudsters, which is why you need to find a marketplace that actively fights against fraud, such as Swappa<\/a>.<\/p>\n Table of contents:<\/em><\/p>\n Scammers and fraudsters aren\u2019t limited to Facebook Marketplace. They can be found just about everywhere online, but they tend to focus their efforts on websites and marketplaces that aren\u2019t as vigilant in the fight against them. This is why it is important to know what to look for, and what to keep in mind. What follows are some of the most common scams that you\u2019ll come across, and what you can do to avoid them.<\/p>\n The scam:<\/strong> The seller lists a defective or broken item (and doesn\u2019t make it clear the item isn\u2019t fully functional).<\/p>\n The solution:<\/strong> If you are browsing an online marketplace, you should read the description carefully, and review the pictures carefully before you start communicating with the seller. More importantly, you should also fully test the item at the meetup location before you hand over your money.<\/p>\n The scam:<\/strong> Sellers will list an item that is stolen. Sometimes sellers will also try to sell an item they do not have by sharing pictures they found online. There are also slightly different versions of this scam.<\/p>\n Alternate versions of this scam include a seller listing a phone that is financed with a carrier, or on a global blocklist. And, at times, a seller may try creating a listing that appears to be for a popular item, when they are actually selling a picture of the item or an empty box for the item.<\/p>\n The solution:<\/strong> Perhaps the best way to avoid buying stolen items is to stay away from deals that are too good to be true. Preventing this scam also comes down to reviewing the images and item descriptions very carefully. If you want to avoid this altogether, shop from a marketplace like Swappa that uses prevention methods such as pre-approval checks<\/a> and verification images<\/a>, which ensure the seller has the item they are selling. In addition, Swappa checks IMEI\/ESN numbers before listings go live to make sure that phones can be activated and aren\u2019t on a global blocklist.<\/p>\n The scam:<\/strong> This is similar in nature to the previous scam, where the seller lists an item they don\u2019t actually have. But this one goes a step further because the seller isn\u2019t just trying to get some money, they are trying to get personal information. These are known as phishing scams.<\/p>\n The solution:<\/strong> The best prevention method is shopping from a trusted marketplace. But more important is to make sure you never reveal personal information that isn\u2019t absolutely necessary for the sale. It may seem like an innocent request for the seller to ask for some small detail, but small details can be pieced together and that can lead to further issues.<\/p>\n The scam:<\/strong> Multiple people end up \u201cbuying\u201d the same item. Online marketplaces do not always mark an item as sold when it is purchased. This can allow scammers to sell an item to multiple buyers.<\/p>\n The solution:<\/strong> The best prevention against this is to use a marketplace that marks an item as sold as soon as the first customer makes a payment, such as Swappa. Alternatively, if you are planning to buy something online and meet up with the seller to get the item in person — do not send your payment ahead of time.<\/p>\n The scam:<\/strong> Sellers will post an item for sale with the intent to sell it locally. But after you reach out, the seller will be unavailable for some reason, and instead, want you to pay online and have them ship the item.<\/p>\n The solution:<\/strong> The best prevention against this scam is to walk away from the transaction if the seller tries to change the terms during the sale. You should trust your instincts. If something doesn\u2019t feel right, there is a good chance that it isn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n Now that we\u2019ve highlighted a few of the most common types of Facebook Marketplace scams, you\u2019ve most likely started wondering how you can avoid getting scammed. After all, it\u2019s best practice to simply avoid being scammed altogether.<\/p>\n First and foremost — it is important to understand what items can and cannot be sold on Facebook Marketplace. Fortunately, Facebook makes this clear in their Commerce Policies. Unfortunately, scammers and fraudsters don\u2019t always follow the rules, which is why Swappa has a dedicated support team<\/a> that reviews listings and actively fights fraud.<\/p>\n Scammers and fraudsters are always adapting and changing techniques, and what follows are some tips that you should keep in mind.<\/p>\n Perhaps the best way to avoid getting scammed is to stay far away from the \u201ctoo good to be true\u201d<\/em> deals. If something sounds too good to be true, there is a good chance that it is a scam.<\/p>\n The bottom line is that you should always trust your instincts (and remember that it is better to miss a deal than it is to get scammed). Alternatively, you can also shop in a marketplace that hates scammers as much as you do.<\/em><\/p>\n At Swappa, we believe we offer the safest marketplace for used tech, which comes courtesy of the work our support and moderation teams perform, and our policies<\/a>, which includes fraud prevention on multiple levels. What follows are some of the reasons why Swappa is the safest marketplace for used tech.<\/p>\n And, our fraud prevention doesn\u2019t stop with manual checks from our staff, Swappa also has advanced AI-powered fraud prevention tools leveraging tens of thousands of data points to prevent issues before they occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/a>Top 5 Facebook Marketplace scams<\/h2>\n
A seller lists a defective or broken items<\/h3>\n
A seller lists an item that is stolen or an item they do not actually have.<\/h3>\n
The seller isn\u2019t actually selling anything<\/h3>\n
The seller \u201csells\u201d an item to multiple people<\/h3>\n
A seller posts an item as a local sale and ends up not being in the area<\/h3>\n
<\/a>How to avoid getting scammed on Facebook Marketplace<\/h2>\n
\n
<\/a>Swappa is the safest marketplace for used tech<\/h2>\n
\n