Usually, if it sounds weird, it is! I listed a couch and loveseat recently on Facebook Marketplace and immediately started getting messages. I thought wow did I price it too low? But it didn’t take long, once I started conversing back and forth, to realize they all have similar storylines… Call me at ***-****, I want to pick it up today.
I thought that is weird but after the first attempt to call a number, I got no answer and then a text immediately stating they are interested and need to make sure I am a person, can they send me a code. I said, you can facetime or call me back. I then stated know I am real, I am replying to the text. The “potential buyers” don’t take no for an answer so I did a little research and found they want your phone number and this code to have access to your information. I found this story while looking up why a code: Scam Alert – Seller’s Beware!
COUCH FOR SALE
I, fortunately, didn’t fall for it and explained that they can call me or come look at the couch. None of this was what they had in mind. They wanted to scam me.
The next scam was messages sent stating they wanted it but couldn’t pick it up and needed to send me Zelle’s payment. Of course, they never have seen it and didn’t know me so why would they just want to send me money immediately?
I again wanted to see how this could be a scam since three messages in a row all said similar stores and sure enough, it is also a scam. You see Zelle is legit and they just need your phone number to send the money. But they will claim they need more information, such as your email address. After reading up on this I have learned that this is not the case. They want it so they can gain access to your Zelle account and then your bank account.
I can’t imagine how many people these scammers scam a day. I imagine a lot of them were trying to scam me at one time, this is a very popular attempt. You can never be too careful and again if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t!