# Summary

The website content warns users about common scams on Facebook Marketplace, advising caution when interacting with potential buyers who display suspicious behavior or request personal information.

# Abstract

The article titled "Is this item still available?" serves as a cautionary guide for users of Facebook Marketplace, highlighting prevalent scam tactics. It describes how scammers often use automatic responses and fake profiles with misspelled names and generic pictures to initiate contact. The scammers' goal is to trick sellers into providing a six-digit code or clicking on suspicious links, often under the guise of verifying the availability of an item. The article suggests responding with a proposal to meet at a police station for local pickup as a deterrent to scammers. It also reassures readers that giving out a cell number by accident is unlikely to lead to hacking but emphasizes the importance of vigilance against scams. The piece advises sellers to be wary of out-of-town area codes, lack of grammar, and generic or humorless messages, which are red flags indicative of scammer behavior.

# Opinions

- Scammers on Facebook Marketplace often use automated responses and have lazy tactics, not even bothering to type messages.
- The profiles of these scammers are easily identifiable as fake due to misspelled names, generic profile pictures, and lack of account details.
- Scammers may request a six-digit code or send a suspicious link, falsely claiming it's for safety verification.
- It is suggested that sellers propose meeting at a police station for local pickup to expose and deter scammers.
- Accidental disclosure of a cell number to a scammer is not likely to result in hacking; their primary interest is in executing the scam.
- Out-of-town area codes, poor grammar, and a lack of personality or humor in messages are strong indicators of a scam attempt.
- A real customer is expected to have a local area code, use proper grammar, and have a genuine Facebook account with activity and details that check out.
- The author expresses a wish for a burner phone to avoid giving out personal contact information.

SCAM ALERT

Is this item still available?

Everything you need to know about Facebook Marketplace! Scams, right here!

They want you to answer that question.

All it is is an automatic tesponse and you don’t even have to type it in — -those lazy scammers who can’t type messages!!

The Facebook profiles are fake when you click them and have ducked up names misspelled and pic with a blank header on top.

If you say “yeah it’s still available” back in a courteous fashion they will either ignore it because they are so busy scamming other Facebook MktPlce people or they will answer you and ask if you can put a 6 digit code they send you with a link, they send you, to boot!

“Sure, safety is of my upmost concern,” you think, “especially during these ‘worst of times!” as Charles Dickens would say or write down, surely, if he too was living through COVID and the crime! We just see it resurging on the TV, like we do, on the nightly news!

But really you should reply, “let’s meet in front of the police station fir local pickup!”

Dont fall for their act.

No one should make it hard for you to sell something locally!

Money talks bull-stink walks.

I gave one my phone number once.

After looking up blog posts about this, other people say you should not worry too much about getting in trouble if you gave your cell number out by accident because they want to do “their scam” on you, not hack your Facebook account!

The other thing I do is notice how all the area codes they tell me to text are from out of town. I am local pickup so it’s obvious it’s a scammer. You can even look up their fake names in search and put the state you live in next to it and find nothing on their fake accounts. No about, no education, no jobs like one follewer etc of a non used account created 12 hours ago!

If they send me a message that sounds even slightly real(they never do… like ‘I want to pick it up rt now’) i will then ask them what time and day they would like to pick it up and tell them to meet by the police station. There’s no need to text them if they give you a number.

I talked to one scammer for several days about a ten dollar item. He asked me where I was located. I blocked him after that. It says right on the ad where I’m Located. They will say it doesn’t but they must need to know it for their scam.

They have no personality. I razzed him a lot over the past three days and he did not blink and kept replying. No sense of humor, like a robot, is a red flag.

A real customer fir me has a local area code fir the phone number he’s giving me and writes the message with grammerly and has a real Facebook account to back it up — That’s it. That’s all there is to know.

Times like this i wish I had a burner phone!

Anyway, too bad there are so many problems when you’re trying to make a dollar, nowadays.

Take aways

Area code will be different from other state than where you live.

Sense of humor. Not a robot.

Grammerly. Scammers don’t use IT. I always like the extra space in sentences on a question mark ?

Fake.

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