ORIGINAL ARTICLE: How to avoid Facebook Marketplace Car Scams?
Looking for an affordable ride? Facebook Marketplace might offer some great deals.
However, it’s crucial to stay alert because scammers often lurk there, ready to steal your money.
Familiarising yourself with the warning signs is key to avoiding potential scams when browsing for a car.
This guide will help you recognise the red flags of Facebook Marketplace scams.
Additionally, these tips are applicable to any private car sale.
This includes Gumtree, eBay or other buying and selling platforms.
What is a Facebook Marketplace scam?
Anyone can put their car up for sale on platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree, and while most of the ads you see will be genuine, some not be as they seem.
Dishonest sellers might attempt to swindle you out of your money without giving you the car in return.
In certain scams, perpetrators use stolen pictures of a car they do not own to lure you in whilst trying to convince you everything is legitimate when messaging you.
They will pressure you to make a large deposit or even pay the full price upfront before you’ve inspected the vehicle, only to vanish with your money, leaving you empty-handed.
This leaves you with no car and you’ve lost your money.
Santander figures reveal that £479,964 was reported as lost to Facebook car scams in 2023, up 93% from 2022.
In response to this report, a Meta spokesperson said:
“We recognise our important role in tackling the industry-wide issue of online purchase scams and have systems in place to block scams.
“Facebook Marketplace is a local meet-up and collection service so we don’t facilitate payments or shipping, but scammers exploit this by taking conversations off our platforms where we can’t enforce.
“We encourage our community to report scams immediately so we can take action and we’ll continue equipping customers with knowledge to transact securely and avoid fraud on Marketplace.”
How to Avoid getting Scammed on Facebook Marketplace?
Fortunately, there are a few ways you can prevent getting scammed on Facebook Marketplace or any buying and selling website.
The first thing to think about is that if the car seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Scammers will usually lure victims with a fairly new or desirable car for a very low price, so search around for other examples first to get an idea of what that model usually sells for.
If your desired car is much cheaper than the average and there is no obvious reason why, such as high mileage, this is a red flag.
Facebook scammers may also try to move you away from the platform and get you to talk via email or text.
Avoid doing this as it makes it harder to track communications between you and the scammer if you need to report it.
Don’t be pressured into parting with your cash.
If the seller is rushing you to pay them before you’ve even seen the car, just walk away.
Don’t hand over any money until you’ve physically seen the car and you are happy with it. A picture online is not proof that the car exists.
Make sure to carry out all the usual checks before deciding to buy the car.
An HPI check is a really important thing to do, especially when buying a car privately. You can make sure the car isn’t recorded as stolen, scrapped or written off, as well as checking for any outstanding finance.
What to do if you’ve been Scammed?
Even the most savvy buyer can fall victim to a scam.
But if you are scammed, there are a couple of things you can do.
The priority is to call your bank as soon as possible because it may be able to get your money back.
If you used a debit card or PayPal to pay the scammer, your card provider may be able to (if it meets their criteria) ask the seller’s bank to refund the money.
This is known as the Chargeback scheme. Payments made by debit card are eligible for the Chargeback scheme, however much you paid.
If you used a credit card, you might be able to reclaim the money under the Consumer Credit Act. This is known as a ‘Section 75’ claim.
To qualify for this, the payment must be more than £100 but less than £30,000, other conditions may also apply.
Payments made by bank transfer may be able to be reimbursed by your bank.
If you can’t get your money back and you think this is wrong, you can follow your bank’s official complaints process.
If your complaint isn’t dealt with within eight weeks, or you get a final response letter, you can take your case to the financial ombudsman to see if they can help.
For those who handed over cash using a money transfer service, it is unlikely you will get your money back.
Even if you can’t get a refund, you can report the scam to the Citizens Advice Bureau for additional help.
If you believe a listing on Facebook Marketplace, or any online selling platform, is a scam, you should report the listing and the user through the website you’re using.
It’s easy to report a potential scam through Facebook, and it can mean the fraudulent advert is taken down.
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