Zelle Scams on Facebook Marketplace: How To Recognize and Avoid Them
Written by
Andrea Norris
Edited by
Susan Kim
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Those who sell on Facebook Marketplace should be aware of a scam alert issued by the Better Business Bureau. The alert warns of Facebook Marketplace Zelle scams in which a fraudulent buyer attempts to buy a big-ticket item through a Zelle payment. No matter your financial institution, if you suspect suspicious activity with your bank account after you make a purchase or send money, make sure you contact your bank straight away.
Quick Take: What Is Zelle?
The Zelle app allows users to conveniently and quickly send money between U.S. banks as a peer-to-peer payment platform. Here are a few quick takeaways:
- All that is needed to send money with the app is the receiver’s personal information, such as their email address or phone number.
- This payment method can be used to send funds to friends, family and small businesses.
- Over 2,000 banking apps are compatible with Zelle, or you can simply use the Zelle app to complete transactions.
Zelle Scams on Facebook Marketplace
A good rule to follow is that if something seems too good to be true, it most likely is. When it comes to shopping on Facebook Marketplace, be aware that fraudsters are using a seller’s email address to set up payment scams falsely associated with Zelle and gain access to your personal and credit card information.
Keep your eyes open for the following prevalent Zelle scam: the Zelle business account scam. Here is how it works.
How Does the Zelle Business Account Scam Work?
Firstly, the Zelle scam targets Facebook Marketplace sellers who’ve listed big-ticket items worth several hundred dollars. Here are some red flags of which to stay vigilant:
- Red flag 1: A buyer contacts you by text message or email requesting to buy the item and pay using Zelle. If you agree, the buyer asks for your email address to send the payment, but the buyer does not send the payment.
- Red flag 2: Instead of sending the payment, the buyer sends you a fake email that appears to be from Zelle. The email alleges that the buyer paid using a Zelle business account and that you must also upgrade to a Zelle business account to receive payment. This business upgrade of course comes with a fee of a few hundred dollars.
- Red flag 3: The buyer then contacts you as the seller directly, claiming that they received the same email from Zelle and, to make things easy, have sent you enough money to cover the purchase and the upgrade fee. Then they ask you to reimburse them for the upgrade fee.
- Red flag 4: The scammer provides fake screen captures and documentation as proof of payment to entice you to send the refund without first checking your account to verify receipt of payment. To avoid being ripped off, make sure you always check your bank account first.
Keep Your Money Safe
The alert from the BBB specifically mentions Zelle scams on Facebook Marketplace, but a scammer could use almost any peer-to-peer payment app, such as Venmo or Cash App. Be very cautious of sending money or giving your personal information online through questionable channels. You can always have your bank or the Zelle app verify whether or not a Zelle payment is legitimate before going through with a transaction.
Final Take To GO
The bottom line is that scammers are everywhere, but you can protect yourself from Zelle scams on Facebook Marketplace by watching for obvious red flags and verifying emails and payments. In the specific case of Facebook Marketplace Zelle scams, you can easily contact Zelle to verify whether the account upgrade request is real or not. In general, you should never refund a payment without verifying that it has actually been posted to your account.
Thanks!
Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.
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- Better Business Bureau. 2022. "BBB Scam Alert: Crafty scam targeting Facebook Marketplace sellers."
