Beware Facebook Marketplace scams - Diana Clement

It can be easy to be scammed online when buying from marketplaces. Photo / 123rf

OPINION

Facebook Marketplace is awash with scams. So much so that I really wonder why anyone uses the site.

Of course lots of trades go through without a hitch. Especially on local community Marketplace groups. On the other hand, thousands of Kiwi people are scammed out of good money every year.

Very often the scammers list an expensive item such as an iPhone, car or designer clothing at a bargain price and get buyers to deposit funds into a bank account. Lo and behold the item never arrives and the seller blocks the buyer.

Sometimes the scammer has two bites of the same cherry. In one case I saw on the public group Scammer Check NZ, a person had paid $750 for an iPhone from Marketplace. The item was allegedly damaged in the mail and the victim was asked to either pay an extra $450 for an upgrade to a newer model, or wait 31 days for a refund. After paying the extra $450, the victim was blocked and the phone never arrived. In that case the scammer had created documents to make the page appear like a legitimate business, which had given the buyer some misplaced confidence.

It’s not uncommon for scammers to claim that multiple people are interested and the first person to pay by bank transfer gets to buy, creating time pressure.

Some scams are tricky indeed. One doing the rounds involves a scammer posing as a buyer who tells the seller that they’ll send a courier with the cash to collect the item. The scammer asks the seller to pay for insurance or other fees up front, usually via a fake insurance or courier website. Or they are encouraged to click on a site that looks like the buyer’s bank, but their login details are harvested. Scammers use the personal information to access bank accounts.

Even pickup is a risk. It’s not uncommon for the scammer to ask for a “deposit” and the rest to be paid on pickup. Only the fake seller blocks the buyer after receiving the deposit.

Another scam is where buyers send through fake bank transfer confirmations, or meet the seller in person, pretend to do a bank transfer, and the seller hands over the goods. The money never appears in their account. Screenshots of transactions are easily faked.

Rental scams are related. Typically the scammer rents a property short term on Airbnb or similar, advertises it for long term rental, on Marketplace, meets potential tenants to show them around, and takes their “bond” and first two weeks’ rent in cash.

It is of course possible to fall for a scam on Trade Me, including rental scams. Hackers and scammers look for all angles for their nefarious trade.

Even so, buying and selling via Trade Me is a lot less risky. Paying for goods through Trade Me’s Ping system adds another level of security. Where payment is made via Ping, there is a guarantee if goods aren’t received.

That doesn’t apply where buyers pay directly into the seller’s bank account. For that reason, just like Marketplace it’s very risky buying high value goods via Trade Me where sellers demand bank transfer as payment.

The feedback system on Trade Me, however, does provide some additional protection, although there have been cases of scammers taking control of an innocent person’s Trade Me account and offering non-existent goods for sale.

On the subject of payment into bank accounts, the existence of what appears like a New Zealand bank account number doesn’t mean it’s a local bank. Overseas transfer services Wise and Revolut provide bank account numbers in the New Zealand format. They’re legit businesses and great if you are travelling or need to send or receive money to other countries. Unfortunately should a scammer use one of these accounts they can transfer deposits into foreign currency in seconds and remit the money to an offshore account. Once that happens, it’s unlikely any funds will be recovered.

If you really want to buy on Facebook Marketplace, then Netsafe recommends buying from Meta Verified sellers. A spokesperson for Facebook’s parent company says Meta invests substantial resources in detecting and preventing fraud and partners with organisations such as Netsafe, New Zealand Police, and CERT NZ. The company recommends buyers and sellers check if the profile they are dealing with appears new or incomplete, to check reviews, and to insist on meeting in a public space to view the product before paying.