Posted 2 days ago

What's the scam here?

Selling an item on Facebook.

Last Sunday, a potential buyer messaged me asking if he could collect the same day - I didn't see the message till late in the day but replied anyway to say that the item is still available and to reply if they are still interested and we can arrange a date/time for purchase.

Potential buyer never replies.

Today the potential buyer replies to ask if he can come today to buy - no problem, we message a few times and we agree that he will message me just before he leaves home and I will give him the address which he does. Literally, as soon as I give him the address, he replies to apologise and say the item I am selling is the wrong one and he only just realised.

My FB profile isn't my real world name so he only seems to have gained my home address.

I'm trying to figure out what the scam here is and whether I should be worried.
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15 Comments

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  1. wonger73's avatar
    I got the impression of fb marketplace that a lot of impulsive people jump on the listings and then change there minds it happend all of the time to me
  2. DangerousBeans's avatar
    Perhaps you lived too far away or not where he imagined and he was too embarrassed to say and just made that excuse?
  3. KodaBear's avatar
    Not everything is a scam. Sometimes it's just time wasters, or in this case maybe even a genuine mistake.

    While I understand that it's less than ideal that you gave out your address for no reason, there's not too much trouble they can cause you by knowing it compared to just dropping a pin on a random house in Google Maps and deciding that this random address is going to be their target.

    I wouldn't worry too much.
    HappyShopper's avatar
    Author
    Cheers.

    I try to take care when buying/selling on Facebook and, overall, am able to spot the scammers beforehand but there were no red flags whatsoever during our conversation but as soon as I gave him my address he instantly (and I mean instantly) replied to say it was the wrong item.
  4. Shure's avatar
    Is it something worth breaking into a house for?
    Not wanting to alarm you but that's all I could possibly think of
    HappyShopper's avatar
    Author
    Don't think so - something widely available that sells for £40 in stores but that I'm selling for £28.
  5. Palwan's avatar
    There are many who collect the address and never show up, at least someone bothers to told you so.
  6. Tuta's avatar
    "Never Attribute to Malice That Which Is Adequately Explained by Stupidity" (Hanlon's Razor)

    As a rule of thumb, give you street name or post code and meet them when they arrive. This is probably nothing though.
  7. Toon_army's avatar
    I wouldn't stress, I've sold hundreds of things online over the years. Gave my address I dunno how many times, some people come, others don't but let you know, then there's the ones who get your address and you never hear from again.
    For example I was selling a wardrobe last year, somebody asked for my address, gave them it and they never turned up (edited)
  8. sidhoooooo's avatar
    Maybe just someone hoping you would reduce it, as asked for your address
  9. Dyslexic_Dog's avatar
    On your (not real) Facebook profile has it got your date of birth?
    If they think they've got that plus your address and a few other details they could try to apply for all sorts of things. (edited)
  10. Bbqueue's avatar
    Give them your name and then get back to us in a week or 2 and let us know how they fleeced you. That way, we'll all know what to look out for.
  11. Renoir64's avatar
    I would imagine that the address was too far for them in reality.
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