Ohio residents warned of online selling scams

If you are decluttering your home by selling unwanted items online, be on the lookout for buyers wanting to pay you more than the listed price. If the offer seems “just too good to be true,” it probably is.

How the scam works

You post an item for sale online. It might be clothes, a vehicle, electronics or another item. You are contacted by a buyer who seems trustworthy. They offer you more money than what you are asking for.

The scammer may claim they want to cover shipping or other fees for you “because you’ve been so helpful;” may overpay through a digital wallet such as PayPal or Cash App, claiming it’s a policy of the service; or may mail a check for more than the asking price and insist it was by mistake.

In any case, once you are overpaid, the buyer will ask for their extra funds back. After you’ve returned their money, you’ll likely find the initial payment was false — the check will bounce or the buyer’s online payment will be denied. You will have lost the money you “returned” along with the item you sold.

One Ohio consumer reported to the BBB Scam Tracker they lost over $2,000 after listing an item for sale on Facebook Marketplace and being contacted by a supposed interested party. The scammer told the consumer they would pay using Venmo, but their account was a business account while the consumer’s was a personal one.

“They had to pay $1,000 to get the account to work, and I would then pay them back through Zelle or PayPal,” the consumer reported. The initial payment by the scammer was false.

How to avoid scams when selling online

—Don’t believe offers that are too good to be true. Unless you are selling a rare or highly desirable item several people are bidding on, you should not expect anyone to offer to pay more than what you are asking. If someone tries to overpay you, consider it a red flag.

—Check email addresses carefully. If you seem to have received an email from Zelle or another payment app, double-check the email address. Scammers use fake email addresses that are similar to official ones.

—Get to know payment app policies before you use them. If someone claims you need a business account to accept payments, check the app’s official website or contact customer service to find out if the claim is true. Scammers often make up fake policies to trick their victims.

—Don’t ship an item before you receive a payment. Make sure any payments you receive are legitimate before you ship your item to the buyer. If you ship before they pay, you will have no way to get your item back.

—Report scams to the online marketplace. Be sure to report suspicious activity including dishonest buyers or sellers.