[jimbomaybe]

Originally Posted by ILLINOIS RAY

All resales should be cash only. There are so many scams out there similar to what you experienced

"In God we trust" everyone else pays Cash

[Ndomines]

We had an almost identical attempt

Originally Posted by GpaVader

Just thought I would share a recent encounter. Recently posted some items on FB Marketplace to sell. In this case it was Bicycles. I had just reposted the items when a got a FB Message from an interested buyer, the buyer claimed he was out of town but would have his cousin pick up the items and asked if I accepted Zelle? I do, because I've used them for a long time and like PayPal, I will use it to buy and sell items. We agree on a price and he sends me his payment only instead of seeing my payment in my Zelle account I get an email saying I don't have the right Zelle account. I am confused at this point because I've never had this issue before, and I've received more money in the past than this transaction. The seller is very assertive that he has sent the money and wants to schedule the pickup or he wants me to send his money back. I explained that I am not doing either until the money shows up in my account. I checked with my bank and they don't see anything pending or otherwise. I went back to the email and started to review it when I noticed that the email address wasn't from Zelle but a Yahoo account.

Long story short, it was a scam. Pay attention to your emails and look them over carefully before accepting them as real. If you need to take action on something, never click on a link in the email. Go to the website directly, the link may look legit but often times it will send you to someplace where they are going to try and harvest as much information as you are willing to provide them.

After confronting the buyer, I was promptly ghosted and I've never heard from him again.

[cphague]

Zelle itself is safe when used in the way Zelle and many others recommend.

The situation described where someone pretended to send money and was having a cousin pick up the item is not a Zelle problem, but a process a scam artist (thief) can use to get your money.

The situation you described is having a person physically in front of you and not handing over the item until you have confirmed you have the money in your account. That is how it should occur unless the individual is a family member or friend...if you trust them.

If people are going to use technology for moving money, they need to understand how to use it securely and not just assume everyone else is honest.

Originally Posted by MsPCGenius

Clarify for me... how is Zelle a risk? If someone shows up to buy something for "cash only" and I give them my Zelle account name -- they complete the transfer of funds while on site -- I confirm it's in my account, how is that a risk?

Help me to understand how this form of electronic transfer is risky. Thanks.

[rochellepfaff]

What I can't believe is that you actually fell for this one. This type of scam has been around for a long time. They always say they are out of town and a friend will pick it up for them. Then they claim they sent the money and ask for a refund because they changed their minds. Or they send too much and ask you send back the overpayment. THIS IS ALWAYS A SCAM!!!!!

[ndf888]

Originally Posted by Worldseries27

ebay is not immune to con artists. I bought a gift hardcover book collection ( harry potter) at a very low price then received an email from ebay saying be wary of this transaction. As it turns out the seller was a known fraudster to ebay yet he was on there selling. I received my refund so be forewarned, the scammers are everywhere

We’ve got scammed on eBay a few years back… We got a fake eBay message after an auction sale from someone who claimed he won the auction. The scammers asked to ship the item to a different address claiming it was a gift. It was a painful lesson. Always check the email address/user id on eBay.

[Janie123]

Originally Posted by GpaVader

Just thought I would share a recent encounter. Recently posted some items on FB Marketplace to sell. In this case it was Bicycles. I had just reposted the items when a got a FB Message from an interested buyer, the buyer claimed he was out of town but would have his cousin pick up the items and asked if I accepted Zelle? I do, because I've used them for a long time and like PayPal, I will use it to buy and sell items. We agree on a price and he sends me his payment only instead of seeing my payment in my Zelle account I get an email saying I don't have the right Zelle account. I am confused at this point because I've never had this issue before, and I've received more money in the past than this transaction. The seller is very assertive that he has sent the money and wants to schedule the pickup or he wants me to send his money back. I explained that I am not doing either until the money shows up in my account. I checked with my bank and they don't see anything pending or otherwise. I went back to the email and started to review it when I noticed that the email address wasn't from Zelle but a Yahoo account.

Long story short, it was a scam. Pay attention to your emails and look them over carefully before accepting them as real. If you need to take action on something, never click on a link in the email. Go to the website directly, the link may look legit but often times it will send you to someplace where they are going to try and harvest as much information as you are willing to provide them.

After confronting the buyer, I was promptly ghosted and I've never heard from him again.

When we left Colorado for TV, we used FB marketplace a lot. If the buyer shows up (which is not always the case), we accepted cash, Zelle and Venmo… on the spot. Send me the money and when it hits my account, you can have the item. Easy peasy and no deliveries, period. For big items, bring help to load yourself.

The transactions always took place either in the garage with all the doors open or in the driveway and never give out your cell phone number… and if possible, create a dummy Gmail account if you want to communicate that way but we never used one, all comms went thru FB messenger.

[JN777]

Originally Posted by GpaVader

Just thought I would share a recent encounter. Recently posted some items on FB Marketplace to sell. In this case it was Bicycles. I had just reposted the items when a got a FB Message from an interested buyer, the buyer claimed he was out of town but would have his cousin pick up the items and asked if I accepted Zelle? I do, because I've used them for a long time and like PayPal, I will use it to buy and sell items. We agree on a price and he sends me his payment only instead of seeing my payment in my Zelle account I get an email saying I don't have the right Zelle account. I am confused at this point because I've never had this issue before, and I've received more money in the past than this transaction. The seller is very assertive that he has sent the money and wants to schedule the pickup or he wants me to send his money back. I explained that I am not doing either until the money shows up in my account. I checked with my bank and they don't see anything pending or otherwise. I went back to the email and started to review it when I noticed that the email address wasn't from Zelle but a Yahoo account.

Long story short, it was a scam. Pay attention to your emails and look them over carefully before accepting them as real. If you need to take action on something, never click on a link in the email. Go to the website directly, the link may look legit but often times it will send you to someplace where they are going to try and harvest as much information as you are willing to provide them.

After confronting the buyer, I was promptly ghosted and I've never heard from him again.

Same thing happened to my daughter. Total scam!

[TCNY61]

My father passed away last year and we have been selling contents of house on Facebook market place and craigslist and a yard sale. Have been doing cash only except for one or two items and have had good luck so far. have made over $6000 so far so it was definitely worth the trouble. Some things took awhile to get rid of and some had bidding wars when multiple people wanted the item and this wasn't an auction item!

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by cphague

Zelle itself is safe when used in the way Zelle and many others recommend.

The situation described where someone pretended to send money and was having a cousin pick up the item is not a Zelle problem, but a process a scam artist (thief) can use to get your money.

The situation you described is having a person physically in front of you and not handing over the item until you have confirmed you have the money in your account. That is how it should occur unless the individual is a family member or friend...if you trust them.

If people are going to use technology for moving money, they need to understand how to use it securely and not just assume everyone else is honest.

I don't know how Zelle works, but it is not always safe to assume that, just because money is in your account, that the bank may not remove the money later if they discover that the transaction was fraudulent. It happens all the time with counterfeit checks.

[toeser]

I have bought and sold literally tons of stuff on CraigsList. 99% of the time there is at least one scam attempt. Usually, with a little thought, the scams are highly obvious. Just be on your toes. Oh, and always exchange the item for cash in person. Hard to scam that.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by LAFwUs

...or you could simply state in your ad "cash only, at time of pick up" and meet at a public place if the potential buyers is giving off a bad vibe.
Seems to work for 99% of the transaction done thru CL, FBMP, OU, LiG, etc.

Very VERY good advice ! Many police are even encouraging and providing a place for transaction IN the police parking area. Not sure if our Sheriff's annex here does or not, but there is always the FRONT spaces directly in front of a Publix. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to have strangers come to your home, into your garage, etc. It's a sad commentary on the state of the world, but...

[mlmarr]

Scammers everywhere.. just say no..

[RiderOnTheStorm]

Originally Posted by GpaVader

Just thought I would share a recent encounter. Recently posted some items on FB Marketplace to sell. In this case it was Bicycles. I had just reposted the items when a got a FB Message from an interested buyer, the buyer claimed he was out of town but would have his cousin pick up the items and asked if I accepted Zelle? I do, because I've used them for a long time and like PayPal, I will use it to buy and sell items. We agree on a price and he sends me his payment only instead of seeing my payment in my Zelle account I get an email saying I don't have the right Zelle account. I am confused at this point because I've never had this issue before, and I've received more money in the past than this transaction. The seller is very assertive that he has sent the money and wants to schedule the pickup or he wants me to send his money back. I explained that I am not doing either until the money shows up in my account. I checked with my bank and they don't see anything pending or otherwise. I went back to the email and started to review it when I noticed that the email address wasn't from Zelle but a Yahoo account.

Long story short, it was a scam. Pay attention to your emails and look them over carefully before accepting them as real. If you need to take action on something, never click on a link in the email. Go to the website directly, the link may look legit but often times it will send you to someplace where they are going to try and harvest as much information as you are willing to provide them.

After confronting the buyer, I was promptly ghosted and I've never heard from him again.

You open yourself up to scammers by using online payment accounts such as the ones you mentioned. Why not stick to cash or certified check upon pickup? We do. never lost a sale or been scammed.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by RiderOnTheStorm

You open yourself up to scammers by using online payment accounts such as the ones you mentioned. Why not stick to cash or certified check upon pickup? We do. never lost a sale or been scammed.

I wouldn't accept a certified check. Many of the scammers use counterfeit certified checks. You bank will deposit the check into your account, but then remove the money days or weeks later when it turns out to be counterfeit.

[Veiragirl]

Originally Posted by JGibson

The first problem is dealing with strangers on FB or even using FB at all, it's spyware and censorship to the fullest.

Be glad some weirdos didn't show up at your house and take more than the bike.

This applies to Craiglist also. People are hurting for money these days and expect the scams to increase.

EBay may be the only reasonable place to sell stuff at it has protections in place like all transactions are done through eBay.

I totally agree about Facebook.Not a member and never will. Personally I don't care what you ate for dinner, pics of your kids, and all the BS that it promotes.