How To Avoid OfferUp Scams

OfferUp is a client-to-client phone application that facilitates buying and selling of products. This means that anyone with the app can pose as a seller or a buyer. It has been one of the ecommerce platforms that scammers have exploited to defraud users. The fraudulent cheque scam is the most common on Offer Up scam in the US.

Scammers offer to pay with a check sent in the mail. The check initially looks legit to the bank and is cleared. In a few days is found to be fake. By that time, you have sent goods to the scammer and paid for the shipping! Your bank holds you responsible for the fake check. Deductions come from your account for the money lost.  Its success depends on your agreement to accept payment out of the app.

Here is how you can stay safe on Offer Up

  1. Pay for products only through the app’s payment platform.

This gives you security because your information is kept confidential and transactions are recorded and tracked. DO NOT respond to requests to accept gift cards or wire transfers. DO NOT wire money through MoneyGram or any other out-of-app payment platform. You cannot get it back in case of any issue.

Large purchases, like buying a car, may need you to use bank transfers. That is fine as long as you have done your part in verifying the seller and the product.

OfferUp recommends cash payments for local in-person transactions and in-app payments for shipped products.

2.  Verify the product before you pay.

Find ways of verifying your product and its seller before sending the money. You can check the seller stats in the app: number of sales, seller rating, verified account details and compliments/comments made by others. This will tell you if you can trust or ignore a seller. Avoid blurry images and unclear descriptions, those are suspicious. Such a seller may be hiding something.

Use local sellers who you can meet in person to verify the product. Also, avoid local sellers who do not allow product viewing before purchase. The product may be in worse shape than shown in the photos. Or, worse, they may not have the product at all and will block you once you pay!

3.     Don’t fall for the urgent purchase.

Some scammers pose as sellers with a quick and urgent, hot deal. They have a product whose price is an absolute bargain. Do not fall for the rush! They make excuses like: they don’t have time for a meeting to verify the product. Those are simply evasive tactics. That bargain price is the bait.

If a deal is too good, think twice! A seller offering you an iPhone for $10 is probably a scammer. A buyer offering more than your listed price may also be up to no good. Some sellers have been scammed by being asked to ship the product to a different address and payment made through a check sent to your mail. Such Offer Up scams show that the check initially clears when you deposit than in a few days the bank finds it to be fraudulent. And you are left to pay!

4.     Ignore out-of-app communications.

Any link to view a product at another online site is to be treated with suspicion. Unsuspecting buyers have fallen prey to cloned Offer Up sites that look like the real site and submitted their emails, banking and personal details only to be victims of phishing scams and attempted identity theft.

Other OfferUp scammers cleverly prompt you for your phone number by requesting to send you a verification code so that they can verify your profile. This is a scam to simply get your phone number and target you for fraud. Offer Up makes no such requests for profile verification.

Save yourself that kind of trouble by communicating strictly within OfferUp app.

5.     Guard your personal information tightly.

DO NOT share any other personal information with buyers or sellers than is needed for transacting business. Scammers can build up your personal profile through the extra info you give and use it to steal your identity.

Use strong passwords for your login. Ensure that your passwords have upper and lower case letters, plus numbers and symbols.

6.     Report Suspicious Behavior.

Report users who make requests for your personal phone number, email, home address, bank details. OfferUp does not share such info with users but uses it with discretion to verify accounts and make possible delivery of products you buy and sell within the app.

Treat any such request as a violation of your privacy and a potential security threat. Report them to Offer Up immediately.

Lastly, OfferUp is safe to use if only you stay within the app in communicating and making payments. Verify a buyer or a seller first, then proceed to transact business.

Once you exchange phone numbers and go outside the app, you may be open to any kind of scam. Newer and cleverer scams keep coming up. Be wary of any suspicious activity while you work or shop online.

If you have fallen victim to OfferUp scams or your account details have been compromised, please visit the links below: 

• How to block or report someone
• Contact OfferUp Support