Possible scam on facebook marketplace, help please?

Question

Ok, here it goes. I listed 4 text books up on the facebook marketplace a few weeks ago, and all of a sudden, 3 people claimed to be interested in buying them. They all said they were out of the country (or at least their "shipper" was at the moment), all three of the messages were written as if they were from the same person just different spelling errors. They all said they would be paying by using money orders/ money grams, and said that they would send the money, and then I would have to deduct the cost of the books, and send the rest to the shippers, blah, blah, blah. I sold someone a book for around 55 dollars and they send me a check for $850!!! And I get another one along with it from a different person. They are both from the same state. Something was fishy with me when I saw that their messages were similar. Should I be worried, I will provide more information if I need to explain more. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Mike

Answer 1

Yes , you should be concerned ... that's strange!  Did the checks clear?  Don't deposit the check into your account, but ask your bank if the check is good.

Answer 2

yep i agree it sounds fishy, i think u should speak to someone in authority such as a bank manager or an omdusmen for advice. Whatever you do (and i know its probably tempting) DO NOT cash the cheque.....u may get into trouble without it being ur fault

Also, im concerned now, i use facebook but am new to how the selling thing works....could u plz explain as i dont have a clue! :)

Answer 3

This is a very common scam - you see it a lot on Craigs List. Someone responds to an ad, tells the seller they'll be getting a money order for more than the price of the item and then asks the seller to send a check for the difference to the buyer or someone else.

The money orders are FAKE. They may clear the bank at first, but trust me the bank will catch that they are forgeries and the money orders will bounce. If you've sent the scammer a check for the "difference" you not only didn't get paid for your books but you also sent them your money and gotten nothing in return.

So if you cash their money order for $850 dollars and then send them (or their contact/whoever) a check for $795, you've lost $795, plus the cost of the book ($55) that you sent them, plus the cost of shipping, plus whatever fees your bank might assess for trying to cash a fake money order.

If anyone ever approaches you and tells you they'll send more than you're asking, run as fast as you can. It's a scam.

Answer 4

I just experienced the same thing but caught it in time with "paulsmith" something or other offering to buy a purse i had listed on facebook and to send me 3,900.00 for the purse, i keep 200 and he's from canada and i ship the money back etc.  really bazaar