Facebook Marketplace Scams

Higgins5473

Does anyone know what the hustle is with Facebook marketplace ads for, in only what I’ve seen, new iPhones. There dozens of new iPhones hugely underpriced with accounts that have just been set up. When you contact them they say they live somewhere and can meet etc but it’s clearly a load of bollocks. I messaged out of curiosity and it just seemed like the person at the other end was doing it to entertain themselves rather than to extract money or personal data. It’s quite odd.

lurker2000

I paid for a chicken coop. It was to be delivered. Paid for it and no delivery or response from seller. I reported it to Facebook and my bank. Surprisingly, I got a refund from the bank which I was not expecting. Lesson learnt tho.

Gamergurll

I posted about these a few months ago hoping to get an answer myself to what it's all about.. Not iPhones but furniture I was shopping for, but underpriced items, pay on delivery. Facebook marketplace is flooded with these adverts but with pay on delivery I can't quite figure out what the scam is! A Google search says that they deliver something different to what you ordered but surely with a furniture item you would inspect it on delivery? 🤔

Gamergurll

I'm wondering with the iPhone situation they could have looked for payment online before the (fake) meet up that will never happen, hoping to steal the money similar to the post about the chicken coop?

Killinator

I know of a woman who bought an iPhone 14 Pro Max from Facebook store.

Was a good 5 or 6 hundred cheaper than cost new despite the claimed seller only buying it themselves a few weeks earlier. Told woman they wanted to help fund a holiday abroad.

Despite some red flags (woman afterwards admitted she should have copped it) this woman went and met a man in a car park, was handed a box with what appeared to be the correct phone and handed the cash over.

Got home tomset up and turned it on. First thing they noticed was the phone was slow and screen not overly responsive. Then they went to install a few apps and it redirected to app store.

Some digging down into phone info revealed it was running on Android. So it was just a iPhone shell and a cheap android underneath.

Probably bought from china for next to nothing and sold to this woman for considerable profit. Of course sellers FB page was relatively new with very few posts.

SCOOP 64

Noticed this we some adds, some seem to been ridiculous prices, garage 20 x 10 feet €120, many more like this phones, laptops etc.. as to be a scam, why are they allowed.

skinny90

No different to Adverts and other platforms. Adverts have some sellers (some shop fronts in Dublin) selling Grey market phones.

While Grey Market and not fake it still gives sellers a platform and an opportunity to buy in cheap stock from China and pawn it off.

This has been happening for years with fake apple ear buds, beats head phones , speakers, jerseys, jackets, dodgy boxe and so on.

yoyo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119753576#Comment_119753576

There are a brand of Android phone called Welcome which rips off all the main brand designs including Apple, Samsung etc. It is well worth knowing about this especially if phone shopping on classifieds sites, they can look quite like the real thing from the outside:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIQ10qSTZX8

Higgins5473

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119759841#Comment_119759841

No, its not a case of what you describe in my experience over the last few weeks. It's a lot more "odd" than sinister. Here's what happened in my case, an ad (of which there are many) selling iPhone 14 Pro Max grossly underpriced, I message asking if still available, replies of yes, back and forth of meeting up and sorting out payment. None of this I take at face value obviously because the price was too low, says his wife bought him the phone from Harvey Norman in Blanch and he has receipts but can't send a pic because of personal data, he got a samsung and didnt want it. Seller is pleasant etc. So we arrange meet up he gives an eircode and an address in Dublin...last minute he texts to say his wife is keeping the phone and is not selling. I wasn't expecting any of this to happen so no great loss but he did not try and extract data or money off me at any point.

Out of curiosity, the ad remains up, my wife messages and asks, phone available and his address is now in Mullingar and he can meet. Phone was now an unwanted upgrade from work. etc etc. Meeting is cancelled at last minute, he's decided to use it. Again, no attempt to extract money or data.

So what gives????? What's this fella's hustle or angle? I can only conclude that this is some seriously bored sad individual that enjoys this attentions....however, there are a dozen ads doing the same, we messaged someone else. Same story, steady on with the "aren't you just as sad to be doing this" stuff, it hasn't really taken any time and I'm genuinely baffled as to why someone would bother unless it was for some monetary gain but there just doesn't seem to be any actual scam involved, selling of counterfeit goods or grey market angle.🤯

skinny90

yeah thats crazy

maybe lonely people get a kick out of that stuff

As a seller, I am getting far more scam attempts tho on marketplace

Gatoh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119753483#Comment_119753483

I'm after the sofabed myself, saw one in DoneDeal https://www.donedeal.ie/livingroom-for-sale/sofa-bed-blue-velvet-195cm/34016605 and somehow I feel that something is fishy about it..

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121137854#Comment_121137854

That looks like a showroom and there are a few more of the same for sale. When I see different locations stated for the various items it's clearly a "business" and I think you will be able to figure out what type of business this is or who runs it. The positive side is the cash on delivery so at least you would get something delivered but it would need to be checked in detail.

Atlantic Dawn

....