The MVSB Fraud Team has reported an increase in Facebook Marketplace scams involving money transfer apps. When selling items online, it’s important to be on the lookout for scams so you don’t fall victim.
In the latest Marketplace scam, a fraudster pretends to be an interested buyer for an item and comes to an agreement with the seller to purchase the item. The buyer offers to send payment through a money transfer app and asks for the seller’s email and phone number to do so.
The fraudster then sends a spoofed email impersonating the money transfer app stating that they must pay a fee of $200-$300 to upgrade before they can receive their payment. Meanwhile, the phony buyer claims they were also charged the fee prior to making the transfer and asks to immediately be refunded via the same transfer app.
Money transfer apps, all called person-to-person (P2P) payments, include popular names like Cash App, Venmo, Zelle and PayPal. While these apps are safe for sending money to people you know, they won’t require large fees to upgrade. Be sure to always visit your verified money transfer app or banking app directly and trust your instincts if something doesn’t seem right. Scammers often use a sense of urgency to pressure their victims into sending money.
If you are a MVSB customer and you are concerned you transferred or are being asked to transfer money in response to a possible scam, please call us directly at 800.922.6872 so that we can assist you with protecting your accounts and identity.
