Marketplace Scams
Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, OfferUp, eBay, Etsy, Poshmark, Mercari, and Depop scam patterns. Use this category to compare suspicious patterns before you click, reply, pay, scan, download, or share private information.
How to use this marketplace scams section
The Marketplace Scams section is built for people who received something suspicious and need a clear, calm way to check it. Instead of guessing, search the wording, compare the request with known scam patterns, and verify through the official source before taking action.
Marketplace scams use buying and selling pressure, fake receipts, shipping stories, overpayments, and off-platform payment requests.
The safest verification path is to keep communication and payment inside the marketplace whenever possible and confirm funds inside the official app.
Avoid fake payment screenshots, business-account upgrade emails, third-party shipping pressure, and refunding overpayments.
Common signs across this category
- Unexpected contact that creates urgency, fear, excitement, embarrassment, or secrecy.
- A request to click, reply, call back, scan a QR code, pay a fee, download a file, or share sensitive information.
- Logos, names, screenshots, or caller ID details that look familiar but do not prove the request is real.
- A path that pulls you away from the official website, official app, verified account, printed bill, or known phone number.
- Pressure to act before you can ask someone else, check your account, or compare the message with official information.
Guides currently in this category
This section currently includes guides such as Facebook Marketplace Zelle Scam, Craigslist Rental Scam, OfferUp Shipping Scam, eBay Second Chance Offer Scam, Etsy Custom Order Scam, Poshmark Off-Platform Payment Scam, Mercari Fake Payment Scam, Facebook Marketplace Shipping Label Scam. Each guide is written to explain the pattern without accusing private people, accounts, or phone numbers.
Marketplace Scams guides
Every guide includes warning signs, safer verification steps, what to do if you already acted, reporting resources, and related internal links.
Facebook Marketplace Zelle Scam
a buyer or seller pushes Zelle, claims payment is pending, or says you need to upgrade an account
Risk: HighCraigslist Rental Scam
a rental listing offers a property at a great price but asks for deposits, application fees, or personal details before a safe verification
Risk: HighOfferUp Shipping Scam
a buyer or seller pushes shipping, outside payment, fake labels, or payment proof outside the normal marketplace flow
Risk: HigheBay Second Chance Offer Scam
a message claims you can buy an item through a second chance offer but moves payment outside eBay
Risk: MediumEtsy Custom Order Scam
a buyer or seller uses a custom order request to move payment, files, or communication outside the platform
Risk: HighPoshmark Off-Platform Payment Scam
someone asks to complete a sale outside Poshmark using another payment method or fake confirmation
Risk: HighMercari Fake Payment Scam
a buyer claims payment was sent and pressures a seller to ship before the official marketplace confirms it
Risk: HighFacebook Marketplace Shipping Label Scam
a buyer or seller sends a shipping label or asks for a shipping process that creates payment, refund, or tracking risk
Risk: HighCraigslist Rental Scam
a rental listing offers a property at a great price but asks for deposits, application fees, or personal details before safe verification
Risk: HighOfferUp Shipping Scam
a buyer or seller pushes shipping, outside payment, fake labels, or payment proof outside the normal marketplace flow
Risk: HigheBay Second Chance Offer Scam
a message claims you can buy an item through a second chance offer but moves payment outside eBay
Risk: HighPoshmark Off-Platform Payment Scam
someone asks to complete a sale outside Poshmark using another payment method or fake confirmation
Important note about suspicious patterns
A suspicious pattern does not automatically prove that a specific person, number, profile, or business is fraudulent. DontClickYet focuses on education, pattern recognition, and safer next steps. When in doubt, verify through official websites, official apps, known phone numbers, account dashboards, statements, or trusted professionals.
Extra checks for marketplace scams
This category deserves careful attention because it often involves fake payment confirmations, overpayments, shipping pressure, off-platform deals, fake escrow, and account-upgrade emails. The message may not look sloppy. Many suspicious messages now use clean formatting, realistic logos, familiar names, and believable timing. That is why DontClickYet focuses on the requested action, not just the design.
Common examples in this area include:
- a buyer saying Zelle requires a business upgrade
- a seller asking for payment outside the platform
- an overpayment followed by a refund request
Best verification step: Keep payment and messaging inside the marketplace when possible, confirm funds inside the real payment app, and avoid trusting screenshots.
When reviewing a possible marketplace scams message, separate the claim from the contact method. A real company, platform, bank, agency, employer, marketplace, or app should still let you confirm the issue through its official website, official app, account dashboard, printed statement, verified profile, or known phone number.
DontClickYet uses safer wording on purpose. A guide can say a pattern is commonly associated with scams without accusing a specific private person, profile, email address, or phone number. That keeps the site useful, responsible, and focused on practical safety decisions.
Marketplace transaction checks
Marketplace scams often depend on moving the conversation away from the platform. Once the conversation moves to text, email, or a payment app, the buyer or seller may have fewer protections and less reliable recordkeeping.
Be cautious with fake payment screenshots, shipping agents, overpayments, refund requests, business-account upgrade messages, and pressure to accept payment outside the marketplace. Confirm funds inside the real payment account before shipping or refunding anything.
Marketplace buyer seller verification
Before completing a marketplace deal, both sides should be able to verify the basic details without pressure. Confirm the item, price, pickup or shipping method, payment status, platform rules, refund expectations, and account history before changing the agreement. A simple transaction becoming complicated is often the first sign to slow down.
Be especially cautious when someone asks you to trust an email, screenshot, shipping label, third-party agent, escrow link, payment upgrade notice, or refund request instead of the official marketplace or payment app. Keep the process documented and easy to verify.
Marketplace payment proof warning
Payment proof should always come from the real payment account, not from a screenshot, forwarded email, chat message, or buyer claim. Before shipping an item, refunding an overpayment, holding a product, or changing the deal, open the official payment app or marketplace dashboard and confirm the status yourself.
If the other person says payment is pending, requires an upgrade, needs a fee, or will appear after you send money back, pause the transaction and verify through the platform’s official support resources.