Most marketplace scams start with a small lie about who someone is. The buyer says they are fine. The seller says they are real. The message sounds friendly enough, and nothing has gone wrong yet. That is the point.
Why impersonation is the core warning sign
Scammers borrow trust. The FTC notes that they pose as well-known organizations, and that borrowed name can make a fake offer look legitimate (FTC on buying from an online marketplace). A familiar name is a claim. It is not proof.
Both sides of a sale can be targeted. The FTC publishes separate guidance for buyers and for sellers, so neither role is safe by default (FTC on selling stuff online). Fake stores and impostor sellers are a known category of online shopping fraud, according to AARP. AARP also warns that scammers may pose as a buyer or seller on platforms such as Facebook Marketplace (AARP on Facebook Marketplace scams).
The FTC gives one example that shows the pattern. A caller says you won a sweepstakes from a charity you gave to. The charity name does the heavy lifting, and the prize cannot be checked. Take away the name and nothing is left of the offer.
Check identity before you pay or share anything
Start with the site. Before you enter payment or personal details, confirm you are on the real one. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) points people to official federal sites, which use .gov addresses and the https lock icon. That check applies to government sites. A lock on a shopping page only says the connection is encrypted. It does not say the seller is honest.
Next, find contact details yourself. If a message claims to come from a company or agency, do not use the link or phone number it supplies. Look up the organization independently and contact it that way. The IC3 notes that fraud reports often involve someone claiming to be a government agency or a known company. It also says it will never directly contact you for money or information.
Then ask one blunt question. Can this offer be checked directly with the organization it claims to represent? If the answer is no, slow down. A real buyer or seller can wait a day while you confirm who they are.
Warning signs in the conversation
Scam conversations often follow a familiar shape. They open friendly, add pressure, and end with money moving somewhere it may be hard to get back. The sources point to these red flags:
- An unexpected request for money or personal information, from a buyer, a seller, or a self-described official.
- A push to leave the platform or use an unusual payment method.
- A claim that a government or law enforcement agency will contact you to demand payment.
- Promises of a job or investment returns.
- An impersonated retailer, seller or platform.
The job and investment items deserve extra weight. The BBB's 2025 Scam Tracker report ranks investment and cryptocurrency scams and employment scams as the two riskiest types. More than 77% of people targeted by investment or crypto scams reported losing money, and that category had the highest median dollar loss. Employment scams rose from 14.4% of published scams in 2024 to 15.8% in 2025 (BBB 2025 Scam Tracker Risk Report).
Another red flag shows up after a loss. Someone offers to get your money back for a fee. The IC3 says it does not work with non-law enforcement entities, including law firms and crypto services, to recover lost funds. A stranger promising recovery may simply be running a second scam on the same victim.
What this guide does not cover
This is a short guide to spotting impersonation, not a full playbook. It does not offer a checklist for seller ratings, shipping rules or payment methods. Check the full FTC and AARP pages for those details before relying on any such rule.
It also does not explain how to report a scam to a particular platform, how to seek a refund after paying, or which payment methods carry buyer protection. Those answers exist, but they vary by platform and payment provider, so look them up with the company involved. Fake buyer profiles, counterfeit payment screenshots and overpayment schemes are widely discussed, but they are not detailed here.
A short order of operations
- Pause when money or personal details come up unexpectedly.
- Verify the other party through a contact you found yourself.
- Be wary when someone pushes you to leave the platform or pay in an unusual way.
- If you were scammed, report it through the IC3 and ignore anyone offering paid recovery.
This is general education, not advice for your situation. Treat a name as a claim, and check it before you pay.
