Man tries to make a sale on Facebook Marketplace, gets scammed out of $300 via Zelle
After sharing his story on TikTok, the man didn’t receive much sympathy from other users. But why not?
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After sharing his story on TikTok, the man didn’t receive much sympathy from other users. But why not?
- A common Facebook Marketplace scam tricked the seller into sending $300 after receiving a fake “Zelle flagged the payment” email.
- The story got little sympathy because many users saw it as a well-known scam and believed the warning signs were obvious.
- Payment platforms like Zelle never ask users to send money to “unlock” funds, so only send money to people you know and verify any issues directly with the company.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
“I just got scammed $300, and honestly, it’s probably my fault,” shared TikTok user Mike.
“But if you’re on Facebook Marketplace, and you were intending on buying 2 great couches, you ought to be ashamed of yourself,” he added.
Mike shared how he got scammed on Facebook Marketplace after his mom decided to sell her couches for $300.
She was contacted by a buyer who wanted to pay her for the couches right away and pick them up the next day.
Mike’s mom agreed, stating that they should pay in cash. However, the buyer wanted to send the money through Venmo or Zelle, a digital payment platform.
Mike told his mother that the buyer could send the money to his Zelle account, and he would give it to her.
How did the scam unfold?
While they were waiting for the payment, the buyer shared that the platform had flagged the sum as too high.
“Zelle flagged the payment because it's too high a number that's being transacted to me, that it's fraudulent, and that they need to send me $600,” shared the man.
The scammer's logic was that they would send him $600, and once the TikToker sent $300 back to them, Zelle would release the $600 to him.
When the man started sharing his doubts, the buyer said they had received an email from Zelle about the situation and that he should’ve received it too.
The TikTok creator checked their spam and found the email that was supposed to be from Zelle, stating that the buyer is “required to send another refund of $300 to the buyer via Zelle now."
The man then decided to send the sum. After doing so, he called the company, which confirmed that they would never ask clients to send money to anyone.
The TikTok user then contacted the scammer, trying to reason with them, even stating that he would involve the police. However, it didn’t help, leaving the man out of $300.
“The oldest trick in the book”
The video, which received more than 50K views, was created as a public service announcement to urge people not to fall for such scams.
However, many users in the comments were quite surprised that the person fell for it.
“I guess common sense isn’t so common,” wrote one user.
The man shared that at the time of the situation unfolding, he was occupied with some housework, cutting grass in 90-degree heat.
“Holy crap, you fell for that,” added another user, with the original poster replying: “Not my finest moment.”
“Please tell me this didn't happen. You really thought that you would have to send them $300 first?” wrote another TikTok user.
“Literally the oldest trick in the book,” added a netizen.
The situation also started a debate about Zelle, with one user sharing: “The instant you see the word 'Zelle,' it’s so important to never respond.”
However, not all agreed that this issue is related to the payment platform, adding that they find Zelle safe to use.
Why are people getting targeted via Zelle?
The reason so many users online were surprised that the man fell for this type of fraud is that Zelle scams are so frequent.
There are 15 different scams related to Zelle transfers alone.
One of these is the Facebook Marketplace scam, which targets both sellers and buyers.
Has your password leaked?
In the buyer’s case, the seller asks them to send a deposit via “Zelle” to hold the item. Once they receive the money, the buyer gets nothing in return and loses their money.
Many scammers target users via Zelle because the payment platform transfers funds within minutes, with no option to hold or reverse the transfer, unless the user is involved in an impersonation scam.
Last year, the company was sued by New York Attorney General Letitia James for failing to implement stronger safety measures to combat fraudsters.
What to know before you send money through payment platforms like Zelle:
- Send payments only to people you know.
- Remember that payment platforms never ask to send money to anyone.
- Make sure the caller is really the platform or the bank. In this case, it’s best to hang up and call the institution yourself using its official phone number.
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