10 Common OfferUp Scams To Stay Safe in 2024

OfferUp is a popular mobile online-marketplace that lays a great emphasis on in-person transactions. The platform was created to serve as a competition against Craigslist. It differentiated itself by different user ratings and mobile-friendly apps.

In this article, I will be discussing a few of their OfferUp Scams techniques that you need to steer clear of in 2024. Keep reading till the end of the article to find out more information about the same!

Top 10 OfferUp Scams To Stay Safe From

Here is a list of some of the most popular OfferUp scams that you need to protect yourself from:

1. Fake Accounts

Before going ahead with performing any transactions, make sure that you are researching the history of the seller. It is a great sign when a seller has a lot of positive reviews and listings. Also, you need to be able to keep an eye on the negative ratings/reviews and see what they are claiming about their own experience.

2. Verification Code Scam

In this particular scam technique, the caller asks for your number to send a verification code. They claim that they do this to make sure you are the real deal. Just know that this is a way for them to gain access to your phone.

The moment you proceed to give them the code, they are going to link a Google Voice number to your particular phone and then possibly steal all information from your device.

3. Overpayment Scams

Make sure to always use the application of OfferUp for processing any kind of shipping transaction. Or else, you are going to be susceptible to another one of their scam techniques – where they would overpay you and ask for a refund just to withdraw the whole amount from your bank.

When paying for online bought products it is always advised that you use the card which has a lesser amount so that not all is lost!

4. Fake Checks/Cash

For the sellers, OfferUp recommends getting cash for purchased items when you meet the buyer in person. To make sure that the notes aren’t fake, use the Cash Assist app that is managed by the Federal Reserve to determine whether the note is real.

5. Fake Websites

There are a lot of scammers out there who set up fake sites which look just like the original site of OfferUp, but with fake email links. When a buyer enters their payment and login information, these sites steal them.

Keep reading till the end of the article to find out even information on different OfferUp scams!

Have A Look : Which Is Not An Expense Account? Find Out The Correct Answer

6. Extra Shipping Costs

The whole of shipping costs get processed through the app OfferUp, hence, it would be wise of you to not fall prey to the common OfferUp shipping scams where they ask for extra shipping costs.

All of the shipping policies and shipping fees are listed on their site already. You need to stay clear of sellers who insist you otherwise.

7. Paying Outside Of OfferUp

If you are someone who is not in cash, then make sure to stick to the payment processing of the app for all of the shipping transactions. Sellers might request other forms of payments through apps like Cash App, gift cards, or Venmo – but these methods of payment are untraceable if you so happen to get scammed.

8. Listings Which Are Too Good To Be True

If you are getting too good of a deal then it is probably a scam. You need to stay clear of those as well as to not get scammed. For instance, if a seller is offering the latest iPhone for $50 then that’s a scam. They are going to take advance payment from you to accept the order and then not send you the item later on, at all.

9. “Limited Offer” Technique

In this scam technique, the scammers post product advertisements with attention-grabbing and heavy discount phrases – hoping to entice buyers. What happens in these types of offers is that the buyers do not ask a lot of questions, which makes it easier for them to scam people.

Make sure that you are not falling for these cheap tricks as this is likely to be a solid way of getting scammed.

Tip: There’s a whole dedicated OfferUp scams Reddit thread for this which you could certainly choose to check out after this!

10. Multiple Posting Scam

In this particular type of scam, an organized ring usually posts the same product listing on a wide variety of platforms. But in reality, these items are not real and when an interested buyer ends up clicking on their phishing link – it gives away the personal information.

OfferUp Car Scams

The OfferUp car scams are the worst. Some of the things that you need to be on the lookout for when making such purchases are – negative reviews left by other people, pushy sellers, and requests for alternative methods of payment. Some people post pictures of cars that are not their own.

When purchasing a car from their site, you can request to take the car for a test drive before making the final purchase. A self-inspection is the best when buying things like these.

To Wrap It Up!

There are a lot of users who have claimed that their experience of using the services of OfferUp has been pretty satisfactory and safe. But this certainly does not mean that we can overlook the risk factors associated with it.

Thank you for reading this article up till here. I hope you found the information regarding the platform of “OfferUp Scams” useful.

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