#OFFERUP BY STATE HOW TO#
#OFFERUP BY STATE VERIFICATION#
#OFFERUP BY STATE FREE#

Sends you a link to a “new” listing of the item you’re interested in, or wants to move the sale to another platform like eBay.

Refuses to meet up in person, despite living in your area.

Has multiple negative reviews on their seller profile.

Lists an item at a price that’s too good to be true, or advertises that it “must sell quickly.”.

Only posts product photos from the original website that sells the items rather than photos they took themselves of items that they own.

Posts multiple listings with the same photos, and has minimal history on OfferUp.

Requests payment outside of the OfferUp app - especially if they require payment via Venmo, Zelle, CashApp, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift cards.

#OFFERUP BY STATE VERIFICATION#

Sends a verification code to your phone as a “precaution” or to “make sure you’re a real person.” This is a common Google Voice verification code scam.

Asks you to provide personal contact information (such as your cell phone number or email address) and wants to communicate off the platform.

#OFFERUP BY STATE HOW TO#

But by learning how to detect suspicious or fraudulent listings, you can help stay safe on OfferUp and other marketplaces. There’s no getting around the fact that scammers are lurking on your favorite online marketplaces. 💡 Related: 9 Ways To Avoid Common Craigslist Scams → Here’s How To Tell If an OfferUp Seller Is a Scammer When buyers take the bait, scammers find a way to take their money before the victim catches on. Scammers list popular items at extremely low prices to attract attention. Scammers often bypass built-in security measures on OfferUp by moving off the platform to complete transactions or requesting non-traditional payment methods. Requesting alternate payment methods or messaging apps.This can indicate that the buyer is using a stolen credit card and a “refund” back to their own account is a way of pocketing more cash before getting caught. A scammer pays too much for an item and pretends it was an accident. These are the most common ways that scammers operate on OfferUp: OfferUp attracts scammers because they can use the platform to steal from other users or trick them into giving up personal information (that can be used for identity theft). And despite offering a handful of security features and a buyer protection plan, OfferUp is no exception. There’s always some risk involved when buying and selling to strangers online. OfferUp also provides a shipment option so that users can reach beyond their local neighborhoods.

#OFFERUP BY STATE FREE#

OfferUp is a free website through which people can buy and sell items with others in their community - similar to Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. Learn to recognize them, and you’ll know exactly how to avoid dangerous online interactions.

But the good news is that fraudsters on websites like OfferUp use the same tricks repeatedly. Shopping online becomes riskier every year. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), online shopping scams make up 30% of all reports on the BBB ScamTracker website, with a staggering 71% of victims suffering financial losses. What happened to the Cothrons is just one story in a sea of reports describing online marketplace scams. And when the seller requested to communicate via email instead of OfferUp’s messaging system, they didn’t think anything of it.īut one sob story, an email from a fake address, and $800 worth of gift cards later, Colleen Cothron and her husband realized that the sympathetic seller was a scammer in disguise. When a Colorado couple used OfferUp to find a trailer for their upcoming move, they soon found exactly what they were looking for.

Offerup by state