By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos
For the Los Alamos Daily Post

I love Facebook marketplace, and I have found some amazing bargains there. That said, you need to be careful because for every bargain there’s a scam!

How can you tell if a marketplace listing is actually a scam?

One of the first clues that an ad might be a scam is easy to spot. Does the poster have comments and post sharing turned off?

In the image below, you can see the options to react or to send the post as a message, but the option to comment or share is not there. This is because the poster has turned off commenting and sharing for the post, and is a good sign a post is a scam.

Why would comments and sharing be turned off? Because the poster doesn’t want people commenting on their post that it is a scam, or sharing it to warn others.

Image of a Facebook marketplace ad

Another big clue can be the item and pricing. If the item is way below market value, that can be a sign it’s a scam.

If the seller asks you to send them a deposit before they will let you view the item, that’s another clue it’s probably a scam.

If any seller wants a deposit to even see the item, just move on, it’s not worth the money you’ll lose to try to score that bargain.

Other clues can be found in the seller’s profile:

Image of Facebook profile

Does the account seem too generic, lacking in posts, with very few friends or a private friends list? Is it newly created? Did the account only recently join the group? Does the profile picture look AI generated, or generic enough to have been found online? These can also be signs of a fake account.

You can look at their “About” info to try to get more information, in this case the only account they are following is based in Kenya, which seems odd for someone claiming to live in Los Alamos.

Facebook profile about info

Things to look for:

• Overly generic profile
• Comments and ability to share are turned off for the post
• New account, or new to the group they are posting in
• Pricing is way below market value
• Seller requires a deposit to view the item

So while amazing bargains can be had, remember that it is really easy to create scam posts like this to try to get your money. Always use caution when making any online purchase, and remain skeptical. Stay safe online, and be careful with purchases from Facebook and other online marketplaces.

Editor’s note: Rebecca Rutherford works in information technology at Los Alamos National Laboratory.