If you use OfferUp often, you should have had instances where you almost got scammed. If you haven’t, then you should expect one coming your way – maybe sooner or later. It is a website to make good purchases or sales; unfortunately, some people use it for illicit reasons. And while the site operator has provided certain measures to counter this situation, there is only little it can do against desperate scammers. However, to avoid Offerup scams, you need to know the various types to come up with strategies. This article aims to provide everything you should know.
8 Common OfferUp Scams to Know and Ways to Avoid Them
“Is Offerup a scam?” No, it’s not. This online sales platform was birthed in 2011 as a great platform for local purchases – a site/app where items join buyers and sellers. However, some people, including buyers and sellers, have decided to do something illegal with the platform. Today, there are various buyer and seller scams. Therefore, it is important to identify the red flags to use the site effectively. But first, let’s look at the common Offerup scams to be wary of.
1. Fraudulent Payment (Cash or Check) Scam
One of the common Offer up frauds is fraudulent or fake cash/check. It is a payment scam often instigated by a buyer, and many sellers fall victim to it. Fraudulent payment often goes like this: a seller posts/lists an item for sale, and a buyer shows interest and decides to pay up. But first, the person asks to meet so that they can inspect the item and pay. When they have done the necessary inspection, these scammers then decide to pay in check, especially using a fake one. It gets worse knowing that some even decide to pay fake cash.
It might be too late to discover that you’ve been given a fake check, so it is important to stick only to cash. And when you stick to that, you should ensure to get a money market. This device will help you identify a counterfeit bill from a genuine one. That way, you can stay safe. Additionally, you can decide to use other electronic transaction methods such as CashApp, PayPal, Venmo, and others. With these options, you can confirm a transaction and be assured that you’ve received the proper payment for an item.
2. External Payment Scam
If the scammer is a seller, then you should be wary of their strategies too. They would insist on an external payment method. This scam is also common because these criminals would force you into believing you are paying cheaper for a product. The seller would insist that you pay outside the platform-supported methods – for instance, gift cards, wire transfers, prepaid cards, or certified checks. The platform’s buyer protection policy does not cover these options; hence, getting your money on failed or fake transactions may be impossible since they are untraceable.
The external payment scam is slowly killing most people because they would pay so much just for nothing. That is why it is often advised that buyers and sellers accept only cash. And while doing that, you should spot the tiniest detail that rules the money out of being counterfeit, which can be achieved with a money market. Likewise, you can make electronic payments and wait for confirmation before releasing the item.
3. Overpayment Scam
Everyone wants to make a few dollars on transactions – it could be by increasing the price of an item or getting extra pay for certain services. Irrespective of what it is, the sound of it looks good until it turns out to be a scam, especially on Offer Up. It is a buyer scam, and the consequences are huge.
The overpayment scam works such that a buyer requests an item to be shipped for a fee more than usual. They even suggest paying in check. As a seller, you may have thought to earn a few dollars going ahead with this deal, so you decide to ship for the fee. Unknowingly, the check is fake, and your item may have reached the buyer before you noticed. The worst part after losing your items is trying to cash a fake check – you lose money even doing this.
The best way to avoid this problem is to stick to the normal price and use reliable payment methods. If the deal seems too good to be true, you should be careful of it.
4. Verification Code Scam
Offerup verification code scam is another that most people fall victim to, even though it isn’t new. This scam has been ongoing for some time and doesn’t leave a sales platform like Offer Up behind. A seller or buyer instigates it – it depends on who decides to be wiser.
A verification code scam often involves a buyer or seller requesting personal information to confirm a transaction or your identity. These details could be your full name, date of birth, home address, the number on credit cards, social security card, or bank account. If you provide it to these scammers, you may just be signing yourself to identity theft.
They use these details to generate a Google Voice Verification Code that will be sent to your phone number. Now, they can use that code to steal your identity by creating a new account to defraud other people within or outside the platform.
The best advice is to avoid giving strangers your personal details, especially your phone number. If you have it in your listings, it is also advisable to remove it.
5. Shipping Cost Scam
Another example of Offerup shipping scams is the type that involves the cost. It is also a thing because many sellers have gotten away with this fraud, and buyers need to become wiser. First, it would save them from the additional shipping fee; next, it would help buyers identify a potential fraudster.
OfferUp provides a transaction link for delivery. The purpose of this link is to ensure a safe and secure process for a transaction while maintaining purchase protection. However, while this pathway is set, some sellers often decide to charge buyers extra shipping fees for one reason or another. They mostly come up with reasons such as the package weighing heavy or ensuring express delivery. In a bid to do this, they suggest buyers pay through another platform with the “extra fees” mentioned in a fake invoice. If you decide to go with this method, there is a great chance you may never see the item – even your money becomes nowhere to be found.
Like every payment scam advice, you should never agree to options outside those recommended by the platform. Also, it would be best if you stuck to the shipping fees provided by Offerup.
6. Fake or Illegal Mirror Offerup Website
If you are new to this platform, you may not exactly know how things go down, and in the process, you may just visit the wrong site. Scammers are getting creative and thereby indulging in Offerup email scams. They do this by setting up fake or illegal mirror websites and sending out ads with malicious links to people’s email addresses or any text messaging system. This scam is called Phishing.
You will be requested to create an account to continue using the platform to purchase an item by clicking this link with a too-good-to-be-true offer or deal. You will be asked to enter your email address, name, and password. When you eventually enter the mirror website, you will be forced to purchase using a payment method. If you do, you have provided sensitive information and lost good money to scammers.
To avoid this issue, you should confirm that the email ad you’ve received is from OfferUp. You should also ensure only to visit the authenticated site and never provide sensitive details. Finally, it would help if you looked out for purchase protection because it distinguishes a real transaction from a fake one.
7. Account Scam
Also, one of the smartest scams on Offer up involves the account itself. On several occasions, there have been people, sellers mostly, that list one item but decide to create multiple accounts. These people are scammers and often do so to get buyers interested in the item so they can make payments outside the platform.
Under every listing, a scammer tells a buyer to send an email. It will be to purchase the item – but outside the app. When such a person does so, the seller replies by requesting payment via other methods, like gift cards or wire transfers. The methods are not traceable. If someone goes ahead to pay using them, they shouldn’t expect to get the item or a refund.
8. Emergency Sale
Emergency sale is another thing to look forward to from scammers. They tell you they have an item to sell in a rush, and you shouldn’t miss out on the opportunity. They use a good story to sell the demand for the product so that buyers will have no choice but to be interested. The moment someone shows interest, they come up with how to deliver, i.e., by presenting an extra shipping cost for an emergency sale but with a “good” purchase price. You may never get the product or your money refunded if you go ahead.
Anything done in a rush is always suspicious. It would be best if you avoided deals like this because they are always scams.
How Can Radaris Help?
No amount of purchase or sale experience will prepare you for Offer up scams if you don’t know about them. And when you do know, finding the best means to avoid them is consequential. So far, different strategies have been introduced, but Radaris.com is a more effective one.
Radaris is a site that provides every detail about someone online. It searches the internet for information and presents it to whoever is interested. In the case of an OfferUp scam, you can confirm a seller’s or buyer’s identity using their name and location. You just have to enter these details, and the open-source platform will present everything about them on the internet. With Radaris, you can confirm if the person is legit or not.
Conclusion
No one wants to get scammed at all. But to make sure that doesn’t happen, one must equip themselves with the knowledge of the various scams in that situation or on that platform. In the case of the OfferUp website, nine common scams should be carefully paid attention to. If you can learn about Offerup scams, you can protect yourself successfully and use the platform for its sole purpose – to ensure seamless buying and selling.
FAQ
What Do You Do If a Seller Scams You?
If you get scammed on Offerup by a seller, you should report them immediately. If the website gets several reports about a seller, they will take action. You can also contact your financial provider while at it – they could provide info on what to do to avoid such a situation in the future. More importantly, it would be best if you considered removing any personal detail on your profile.
What Do You Do If a Buyer Scams You?
If you’ve encountered Offerup buyer scams, you should also report them to the appropriate authorities.
