Facebook Marketplace Alert: the most common scams to watch out for after the Wilde crime

Facebook Market, the social network’s trading service, is a good alternative to platforms like Mercado Libre. However, the case of the murdered electrician in Wilde has revived controversy over the safety of the platform. Since it does not provide commissions and allows the direct exchange of messages, many choose it as their reference e-commerce. Although it has some potential dangers and scams or ambushes are much more frequent.

Marketplace launched in 2016 in the United States and expanded to other countries, including Argentina in 2018. To use Marketplace, users need to create a post with a photo, description, and price of the item they want to sell. They can then contact the potential buyers via Messenger and coordinate transaction details outside the platform.

There is a significant detail: Facebook yes 3 billion of monthly active users worldwide.

“The Marketplace has become one of the favorite platforms for online buying and selling. And, as happens in many other cases, when there is something that attracts attention and is used massively, it also attracts users. cyber criminals. It is for this reason that more and more scams and deceptions are circulating on this platform,” explains Camilo Gutiérrez Amaya, head of the research laboratory at ESET Latin America, a company dedicated to cybersecurity and user defense.

Here are the most common scams and how to prevent them.

Facebook Marketplace Scams

– Defective items: It may happen that a seller publishes a product with photos showing it in perfect condition, but once delivered it is actually broken. This is especially difficult when purchasing electronic items, because it is usually not possible to evaluate all their functions before purchasing. Unfortunately, there are chances of this happening, either by an unscrupulous seller or a professional scammer.

– Fake items: There are cases where the product may be counterfeit. Designer clothing, perfumes, jewelry and cosmetics are common targets for counterfeiting. Everyone is looking for a good deal, but when it seems too good to be true, it’s usually a scam.

– Google Voice Scams: The Marketplace is also used to commit fraud on other platforms. A very common scam involves trying to steal Google Voice accounts or creating them with the victim’s phone number. Scammers contact a seller because they are supposedly interested in an item and attempt to take the conversation to an unmonitored platform, such as WhatsApp. There they ask you to share a code that they will send to your phone to verify that you are a legitimate person. That code is the two-step verification (2FA) code for Google Voice, which once in possession scammers can create an account associated with that phone number.

– Overpayment: The scammer pretends to be a buyer and claims that the seller overpaid for an item purchased. They will send a screenshot showing the supposed purchase transaction and ask you to refund the difference. Obviously at no time was a payment made and if the seller had fallen into the trap he would have lost the money without the possibility of a refund.

– Purchase that never arrives: Another scam is to sell an item, collect the money but not deliver it to the buyer. This only applies to items shipped outside of the buyer’s local area.

– Phishing and fake giveaways: One way to obtain information from victims is to send phishing emails with supposed offers and freebies on the platform. The unsuspecting victim will click on the link and fill out a form with personal information, believing they are participating in luxury items or other special offers. Of course, scammers only want personal information to commit identity theft or identity theft fraud.

– Insurance scam: Those selling very expensive items on Facebook Marketplace may be contacted by scammers posing as buyers willing to pay the cost of shipping the item and even submit a fake invoice as proof. There’s just one problem: they ask the seller to pay a small fee for the so-called insurance, which is usually a small amount compared to the price of the item, convincing the seller to accept it.

– Misleading offers: Scammers advertise a high-quality product at an attractive price, but the moment a person believes they have benefited from it, they warn them that the product is no longer available, even if it never was, and will offer the buyer a similar item for a much higher price or a lower alternative.

How to spot scams

As with other forms of online scams, the key is to remain skeptical and vigilant. To do this, ESET shares 10 very useful tips when browsing and/or purchasing via the Facebook Marketplace:

– Inspect, check items first and purchase them only from local sellers.

– Set as point of encounter a public place, well lit and possibly during the day.

– Revision Buyer/seller profiles for ratings and be aware if the profiles are recently created.

– To verify the market price of the item and, if there is a significant difference between this and the selling price, be aware that it may be counterfeit, stolen, defective, etc.

– Be careful with offers and giftsand never enter personal data to access it.

– Just use it reliable payment methods via Facebook Messenger (PayPal, Facebook Checkout), as they offer a way to dispute a payment. Scammers often ask for gift cards, bank transfers, and payments through different services.

– Continue the conversation Facebook: Scammers like to move the chat to another platform where it is easier to scam people, because there will be nothing there to support the victim.

– If you are a seller, never send items before payment has been made.

– Be wary of changes in the listing price.

– Do not send codes verification (2FA) to potential buyers.

– If the worst happens, it will suspicious that being a victim of fraud, you must relationship to the seller and report it immediately on Facebook Marketplace.

“For all of the above it is necessary to adopt good security practices, pay attention to signs that an offer may be a scam and inform yourself about the methodologies that cybercriminals use to perpetrate their attacks. Therefore, it is possible that users avoid buying a problem”concludes Gutiérrez Amaya, from ESET Latin America.