Recognising scams on Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace is a popular marketplace, but it is also popular among scammers. In this guide you will find the scam types typical of Facebook Marketplace, ways to check a seller’s trustworthiness and instructions on how to act safely through Messenger and Facebook’s payment system.

How to recognise a trustworthy seller on Facebook?

  • Check the seller’s profile - A trustworthy seller usually has a genuine and active Facebook profile with personal posts and photos.
  • Age of the profile - An older profile (several years) is more likely genuine than a newly created one.
  • Mutual friends - If you and the seller have mutual friends, it increases trustworthiness.
  • Communication style - Trustworthy sellers answer questions clearly and appropriately.
  • Review history - Check the reviews the seller has received on Marketplace.
Vinkki: Jos myyjän Facebook-sivulla ei ole henkilökohtaista sisältöä tai profiili on perustettu hiljattain, ole erityisen varovainen.

The most common signs of a scam on Facebook Marketplace

  • Unrealistically low price - "Too good to be true" applies especially on Marketplace.
  • Poor-quality or internet-copied images - Scammers often use images taken from elsewhere.
  • The seller’s location does not match - If the seller claims to be nearby but Facebook shows a different location.
  • Pressure for a quick deal - "Others are interested too" or "the offer is valid only today".
  • Requests for advance payment - A request to pay a "booking fee" or the full amount before seeing the item.
  • Suspicious payment methods - Requests to use unusual payment methods or foreign accounts.
  • Use of a third party - A "friend" or "courier" handling the delivery on the seller’s behalf.
Varoitus: Facebook ei tarjoa minkäänlaista ostajaturvaa Marketplacessa. Jos joudut huijatuksi, Facebook ei korvaa menetyksiäsi.

Checking the images

On Facebook Marketplace it is especially important to check the images, because scammers often use images copied from elsewhere. Follow these steps to make sure the images are genuine:

1
Tallenna kuva laitteellesi

Right-click the image in the listing and select "Save image as..." (on a computer) or press and hold the image and select "Save image" (on a mobile device).

2
Käytä käänteistä kuvahakua

Use the reverse image search tools to find out whether the image appears elsewhere on the internet. You can use Google Lens, Yandex, Bing or TinEye.

3
Analysoi hakutulokset

If the same image is found elsewhere (especially on foreign websites or as product photos in online shops), it is probably a scam.

4
Pyydä lisäkuvia

Ask the seller to send more photos of the item from different angles and of details. Scammers usually cannot provide these.

Pro-vinkki: Pyydä myyjää ottamaan kuva, jossa tuotteen vieressä on paperi, jossa lukee sinun nimesi ja päivämäärä. Tämä todistaa, että tuote on oikeasti myyjän hallussa juuri nyt.

Safe trading on Marketplace

  • Always meet in a public place - Choose a busy area as the meeting place, preferably near surveillance cameras.
  • Bring a friend - Especially when making more expensive purchases, do not go alone.
  • Inspect the item carefully - Make sure the item works and is as described.
  • Prefer cash - On Marketplace, cash is the safest payment method.
  • Never send money in advance - Stick to deals made in person.
  • Save the conversations - Keep the Messenger conversations in case problems arise.

What to do if you are scammed?

If you suspect you have been targeted by a scam on Facebook Marketplace, act quickly according to the following steps:

1
Ilmoita Facebookille

Report the scammer to Facebook using the reporting feature in the listing or on the profile. Click the three dots in the top right corner of the listing and select "Report". Facebook also has official help pages for this: a fraudulent listing can be reported at facebook.com/help/1295340050874305, a seller at facebook.com/help/196126404168290 and a buyer at facebook.com/help/280774317577363.

2
Tee rikosilmoitus

If you have lost money because of the scam, file a police report. The report can be made online on the police website or at the nearest police station.

3
Kerää todisteet

Save all messages, images, payment details and listing information. Take screenshots of all communication, including the listing itself, the seller’s profile and the payments.

4
Ota yhteyttä pankkiin

If you paid by bank card or bank transfer, contact your bank immediately to reverse the payment. The faster you act, the better your chances of getting your money back.

5
Varoita muita

Warn other users in local Facebook groups, but do not share the seller’s personal details publicly. Describe the nature of the scam and how it happened, so that others can avoid the same fate.

Muista: Toimi nopeasti! Mitä kauemmin huijauksesta on kulunut, sitä vaikeampaa on saada rahoja takaisin tai saada huijari kiinni.

Facebook Marketplace’s special features

Overpayment scam and forged payment confirmations

In an overpayment scam against the seller, the "buyer" deliberately pays too much and asks to be refunded the difference. The original payment later turns out to be false or is reversed, and you lose both the item and the refunded amount. In another variation, the scammer sends a screenshot of a "successful" payment that was not actually made. Always check that the payment has arrived via your own online bank or payment app - never trust a screenshot or an email notification sent in a message.

Payment app and account update scams

The scammer pressures you to move the conversation and payment away from Facebook’s platform to a third-party payment app or bank transfer, where buyer protection does not apply. A common trick is to claim that you must "upgrade" your payment account to a business account in order to receive the payment, and that the buyer will send you the upgrade fee in advance. It is a scam: no genuine payment service works this way. Stick to Facebook’s own payment system and Messenger, because only deals made through them are covered by buyer protection.

Vehicle and advance-payment scams

In vehicle scams, the seller lists the car below the market price and claims to be abroad, which is why they cannot meet in person. They direct you to a forged transport company or a "secure" escrow service and demand an advance payment by bank transfer or another irreversible method. Never pay for a vehicle before you have seen it and its documents in person. If the seller refuses to meet or pressures you to pay a "booking fee" in advance, it is almost certainly a scam.

  • Social dimension - You can see the seller’s social network, which helps assess trustworthiness.
  • Messenger integration - Communication takes place in Messenger, where you can see when messages have been read.
  • Verification of profiles - Facebook requires user accounts, but creating fake profiles is still possible.
  • Local trading - Marketplace is designed for finding sellers nearby.
  • "Facebook Pay" - Facebook’s own payment system, which offers some protection but not comprehensive buyer protection.
Vinkki: Käytä Marketplacen hakusuodattimia rajataksesi näkyviin vain paikalliset myyjät, jotka ovat valmiita tapaamiseen. Vältä postitse lähetettäviä tuotteita, jos mahdollista.