Right here’s what you need to know

The cell market app has a rising variety of customers, however not all of them are real. Be careful for these frequent scams.

04 Feb 2026
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6 min. learn

OfferUp has been in enterprise for almost 15 years. Though little identified outdoors the US, {the marketplace} app competes for client hearts and minds with trade giants Craigslist, Fb Market and eBay. And like them, it has an issue with fraud. In the event you’re seeking to purchase or promote on the platform and need to keep away from the scammers, learn on.

High 10 OfferUp scams

OfferUp claims to course of over 30 million transactions every year. That’s inevitably going to draw some customers with nefarious motives. Listed below are the most typical scams it’s possible you’ll encounter on the platform:

Counterfeit objects

Watch out for high-value objects that grow to be rip offs. The vendor will sometimes attempt to persuade you to pay through a third-party service (e.g., Zelle, Venmo) somewhat than by way of the app, as doing so means the merchandise gained’t be coated by OfferUp’s Buy Safety.  

Cost rip-off

As above, scammers (whether or not purchaser or sellers) will usually attempt to trick you into transacting through third-party money app companies. They might:

• Promise to pay above the asking worth for a product you’re promoting, with the intention to persuade you to comply with them utilizing a money app. They then overpay utilizing a stolen account or faux test, and ask for a refund. In the event you pay it, you’ll finally be down the refund, plus your merchandise, and could also be requested to repay the unique fraudulent sum
• Ask to pay through reward playing cards, which grow to be faux or with zero worth
• Declare to be out-of-town sellers, requesting cash-app fee for objects they by no means find yourself transport

Account takeover

A purchaser asks you for a verification code with the intention to ‘confirm’ your itemizing, as an illustration by way of Google Voice. In truth, they’re normally making an attempt to log into your account and wish the two-factor authentication code despatched by OfferUp. In the event you hand it over, they get management of your account, enabling them to entry your private info and probably use your account to rip-off others.

Empty field

Some sellers add disclaimers in a prolonged merchandise description saying they’re solely providing the field or a digital picture of the merchandise. So when it arrives, all you’ll obtain is an empty field.

Phishing hyperlinks

Rip-off patrons and sellers would possibly ship you a message saying one thing like “click on right here to receives a commission” or “click on to confirm your information”. Doing so will take you to a phishing website the place you’ll be requested to fill in your logins, fee particulars and/or different delicate private info.

E mail phishing

Some patrons or sellers would possibly ask to your e mail tackle or telephone quantity throughout the transaction course of. They’ll use it to spam you with malicious hyperlinks designed to steal your info or set up malware in your gadget.

Deposit rip-off

A vendor posts a high-value merchandise, providing to ship it to you so long as you set a deposit all the way down to safe it. It seems the merchandise doesn’t exist, and also you’ve misplaced the deposit.

Bouncing checks

A scammer pays for an merchandise you’re promoting through test, which bounces a number of days later, leaving you with out the merchandise and no fee.

Funding alternative

A vendor posts an inventory about an “funding alternative” or comparable, however requires you to ship cash first.  

Pretend jobs

Scammers could pose as employers that require upfront fee for ‘background checks’ or comparable. Alternatively, they could request you fill in your private and monetary particulars as a part of the ‘utility course of,’ which they will use for identification fraud.

What OfferUp protects

OfferUp presents 2-day Buy Safety for patrons, which means that you’ve 48 hours from supply to file a declare for objects:

• Considerably not as described
• Broken in transit
• Counterfeit

It’s also possible to file for objects not obtained and/or empty field scams.

Nonetheless, OfferUp won’t supply safety for something bought off-app, or that violates its guidelines (e.g., reward playing cards, alcohol), or that was paid for in money, in individual.

What to look out for

While you’re shopping the app, the next ought to all be purple flags:

• Offers which can be too good to be true, normally from fraudulent sellers who need you to place a deposit down, or rip-off patrons wanting to steer you into transacting off app.
• A purchaser profile with no historical past. This isn’t essentially a scammer, nevertheless it pays to be additional cautious
• A advised meetup level that’s not a Group Meetup Spot, as this might point out they need the transaction to not be noticed
• A purchaser/vendor asks for a verification code, which they really need to log into your account
• Patrons/sellers ship you messages containing hyperlinks to ‘confirm’ or comparable
• A vendor tries to make use of urgency to hurry you into making an unwise resolution, like shopping for a counterfeit merchandise or placing a deposit down for a non-existent merchandise.
• Emotional manipulation, resembling scammers saying they cannot meet in individual as a result of they’re within the army or out of city on household emergency
• Phrases like “field solely,” “digital picture,” or “reproduction” hidden in a prolonged product description
• Requests to repay app
• Inventory photographs of things somewhat than ones they’ve taken themselves, indicating they don’t really personal the product
• Overpayment for an merchandise

Staying secure

To remain secure on the app, the recommendation may be very easy: don’t depart it and don’t click on on any doubtful hyperlinks. Meaning by no means leaving the app for messaging or funds, by no means handing over your private particulars, and never responding to messages with hyperlinks in them. In the event you organize an in-person sale, be sure it’s at a Group Meetup Spot. And if you wish to be extremely cautious, solely purchase from or promote to a person with a “TruYou” badge on their profile, indicating their identification has been verified.

I’ve been scammed, what subsequent?

If the worst-case situation involves cross, report the rip-off to OfferUp instantly, in case you’re coated by the agency’s 2-day Buy Safety. In Messages, faucet the dialog with the scammer and the three dots within the nook, then Report. Submit a Buy Safety declare within the OfferUp Assist Heart.

In the event you’ve paid outdoors of the app, contact your financial institution to file a chargeback (if a card fee) or file a report with the money app you paid with. The latter is unlikely to get your a refund, however could assist get the scammer banned.

In the event you’ve shared private info or a verification code with a scammer, change your app passwords, and do the identical for any websites you reuse the identical credential on. Monitor your financial institution accounts for uncommon exercise. And be cautious of any follow-up phishing makes an attempt that pop into your inbox/messages.

Lastly, contemplate reporting the rip-off to the authorities, eg FTC, FBI or Report Fraud (UK). Earlier than you delete messages or block the person, take screenshots of the unique itemizing, the scammer’s profile, your chat historical past and any fee receipts.

OfferUp is nice technique to choose up bargains in your space, or make a bit extra cash from objects you now not want. However bear in mind, not everyone seems to be performing in good religion.