Facebook Marketplace is a popular online medium for goods and services transactions. However, it is also a place riddled with scammers who use various tricks to cheat people. One such scamming technique is using Venmo to target unsuspecting customers on Facebook Marketplace.
Venmo is an online peer-to-peer tool to send and receive money. People who trust each other usually use this platform for small daily personal transactions. Venmo is not meant for conducting business transactions, as you cannot reverse them once you have finalised them. Moreover, Venmo does not offer buyer or seller protection, such as locking the money until the transaction is completed, like some other platforms.
This makes Venmo quite an attractive tool for scamming people. Recent reports suggest that scams on Facebook Marketplace have surged recently. Yet another customer told 6abc News that she was defrauded on Facebook Marketplace. These are just examples to show you the extent of the scam.
In this article, we’ll explain the Venmo scam on Facebook Marketplace and how to protect yourself.
Here are the topics we cover concerning Venmo scams on the Facebook marketplace.
- How does the Venmo scam work on Facebook Marketplace?
- How to spot Venmo scams on Facebook Marketplace?
- How to protect yourself from such scams?
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How does the Venmo scam work on Facebook Marketplace?
There are many types of Venmo scams on Facebook Marketplace. Some of them are as follows:
Type 1: Upgrade to business account scam
The Venmo scam on Facebook Marketplace starts when the scammer contacts the seller on the platform, expressing interest in a product.
Once the deal has been finalised, the scammer requests the seller to accept the payment via Venmo as it is fast and safe. Venmo is used all over the States, so the seller usually agrees to the request.
With this, the first part of social engineering is complete. Now, the scammer sends an email to the victim’s inbox, claiming it to be from Venmo. This phishing email aims to lure the seller into clicking on a malicious link. The email, supposedly from Venmo, explains that the payment has been received, but to access it, the victim has to upgrade to a business or pro account.
The email also indicates that to upgrade the account, the victim has to pay a fee of, let us say, $50. This amount can sometimes increase to $200, depending on the scam.
If the victim agrees and clicks on the link, they are directed to a fake website resembling the official Venmo page. Here, the victim enters the financial information and login credentials, directly providing the information to the scammers.
Type 2: When the scammers ask for a refund
In this scam, the modus operandi differs slightly. Here, the scammers contact a seller, and once the deal is finalised, they send a fake screenshot to the seller claiming that they have already transferred the money.
However, the payment is still pending or cancelled on the seller’s end. So, the scammers guilt-trip the seller to refund the money, or they will go to the authorities.
Many people have fallen for this trick easily because no one wants to have a tussle with the authorities for no fault of their own.
Type 3: Scammers claim to have overpaid and ask for a return
Yet another way that scammers conduct Venmo scams on Facebook Marketplace is by claiming that they have overpaid the seller by mistake and then asking for a refund of the overpaid amount.
They might even show a fake screenshot of the overpaid amount, which the seller may think they will eventually receive.
In all the above scams, the victims never receive the money but lose their personal information, financial details and money.
The Venmo scam on Facebook Marketplace is just one of the many scams on the platform. For a complete list of Facebook Marketplace scams, head to our article here.
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How to spot Venmo scams on Facebook Marketplace?
Now that we have understood various Venmo scams on Facebook, let us explain how you can spot them easily.
- The first and clear indication of the scam is when the buyer insists on Venmo. As explained earlier, Venmo is not for business transactions with strangers. So, be wary if this is the case.
- The next indication is when the buyer pays more than the marked price of the product. No one does this today. Your alarm bells should start ringing once this happens.
- Usually, scammers are trying to scam many victims in the area. They will not negotiate much or show interest in the product. They want to finalise the deal and complete the scam as soon as possible. Don’t get too excited if you happen to close the deal quickly.
- If the buyer asks for your email address and you get an email from Venmo, especially asking you to upgrade the account or some other technical jargon where you need to pay the money, there’s a high chance that the scam is in progress.
- It is quite easy to fake a screenshot. If you receive such a screenshot, immediately block the number and report it to the platform and the authorities.
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How to protect yourself from such scams?
In this section, we’ll explain how to protect yourself from various ongoing scams, including the Venmo scam on Facebook Marketplace.
- You can start by verifying the buyer on the platform—research extensively by scanning their profile, reviews, and history. An in-depth research can protect your privacy and financial details.
- Always communicate on Facebook Marketplace, not WhatsApp, phone or Messenger.
- Never click on any links on the internet. It may be malicious and lead you to harmful websites or download malware on your computer. Read our detailed article on what to do if you have clicked on a phishing link.
- If you receive any email demanding payment, look at the sender’s address. Official emails from companies do not ask for payments by email. While you’re at it, take a moment to notice the email language. Company emails do not have grammatical errors and punctuation mistakes. However, the scam emails consist of such language errors.
- If possible, meet the buyer before finalising the deal. Here, ensure that the meeting occurs in a public and well-lit place. If you can, a place near the ‘safe zones’ such as a police station will be helpful.
- Do not get too excited if you get a fake screenshot of the completed transaction. Usually, in excitement, people generally refund the money to the scammers. Patiently wait and politely tell the buyer you will initiate the refund once you receive the payment.
- Avoid Venmo, Zelle, or Cash App for business transactions on Facebook Marketplace. Instead, use other safe options such as cash, PayPal, or Facebook Pay.
- Report the buyer on Facebook Marketplace and contact the authorities.
In conclusion, Venmo scams on Facebook Marketplace are just one of the many scams that are currently ongoing, including the Facebook recovery email scam, Netflix spam emails, job scams, crypto scams, fake QR code scams, and LinkedIn scams, among others. However, with caution and knowledge, you can protect yourself and your family from such scams. Follow the steps that we have mentioned above to counter such scams.
Also read: How to identify phishing scams?
