I Got Scammed on Facebook Marketplace: What Can I Do?

If you got scammed on Facebook Marketplace, act fast: stop contact, call whoever moved your money and report it to Facebook. Whether you get money back depends mostly on how you paid, because Meta’s Purchase Protection covers only eligible orders placed through Facebook’s own shipping and checkout. Here’s what to do now, as a buyer or a seller.

1. Stop, and save the evidence

Don’t send more money, the item or any code, even if the other person promises a refund. Meta lists messages claiming something went wrong with your payment among its warning signs (Meta).

Before you block anyone, take screenshots of the listing, the person’s profile, your messages, and any receipts, payment emails or tracking numbers. If they moved you to text, email or WhatsApp, save those too. Meta says conversations routed off Facebook or Messenger make scams harder to track.

2. Call your bank, card issuer or payment app

The FTC says to report it right away to the company you used to pay, and ask it to reverse the payment and refund your money (FTC). Use the number on your card or the official app, never a number the other person sent. The table below shows where to start for each payment method.

3. Report the person and the listing to Facebook

Meta says to stop communicating with the buyer or seller and report the suspected scam. Open the listing, or your messages with the person, choose Report, then Scam, and follow the prompts (Meta). You can report the listing itself, too. If the person blocked you, the same page links to a way to report what you can’t see.

4. Lock things down if you shared more than money

• A code texted to your phone. A “buyer” who asks you to read back a Google Voice code can use it to create a Google Voice number linked to your phone number, then use it to cheat other people (FTC). Google says that if you were scammed into giving the code, you can disconnect your number from Google Voice (Google). More: someone is using my phone number.
• Card or bank details on a link. Meta warns about links to other sites built to collect card or banking details (Meta). See what to do after clicking a phishing link, or after giving a scammer your card number or bank account number.
• Your Facebook login. See how to get a hacked Facebook account back.
• A rental application. Fake landlords may use your Social Security number, driver’s license and paystubs to steal your identity (FTC). See I gave a scammer my Social Security number.

Does Facebook Marketplace have purchase protection?

Only for some orders. Meta’s Purchase Protection is free and automatically covers eligible orders bought with shipping or checkout on Facebook Marketplace (Meta). You can request a refund if:

• your order never arrived;
• it arrived damaged or different from the listing;
• the seller didn’t follow its stated refund policy;
• the purchase was unauthorized; or
• the seller has been removed from Facebook.

If Meta approves your claim, you get back the full price plus any shipping costs.

What it doesn’t cover, according to Meta:

• Local pickup, and items paid for with person-to-person methods such as PayPal, Venmo or payments in Messenger. Meta’s scam guide adds items exchanged in person for cash (Meta).
• Purchases through third-party sites or other messaging services.
• Vehicles and rentals, services, and orders over $2,000, including tax and shipping.

Meta says it doesn’t offer refunds for any person-to-person or offsite transactions (Meta). So if a seller talked you into paying by Zelle, Venmo, Cash App or PayPal instead of checkout, Meta won’t refund you; ask your payment company.

How to file a Purchase Protection claim

1. Contact the seller first. Find the order under Marketplace > Buying > Purchased orders and choose Contact seller for help (Meta). Meta’s latest policy update gives you 3 days after the delivery date to do this (Meta).
2. Escalate to Meta if it isn’t resolved after 2 days. You have 7 days after the delivery date, and you’ll need supporting details such as photos, video and a description.
3. Wait for the money. A refund the seller approves can take 3 to 5 business days to reach your bank; an approved claim, up to 10 business days (Meta).

Still waiting for a shipment? Sellers have 7 calendar days to ship. If the item isn’t shipped by the “ship-by date,” the order is canceled automatically and you’re refunded (Meta).

Can I get my money back?

It depends mostly on how you paid. Zelle, for example, says that if you authorized a payment for something that never came, you may not get the money back, because you technically authorized it (Zelle). Still, the FTC says it’s always worth asking the company you used (FTC).

How you paid	First move	Full guide
Facebook checkout	Contact the seller, then escalate a Purchase Protection claim	See above
Zelle or bank transfer	Report it to your bank or credit union and ask it to reverse the payment	Zelle
Venmo	Report it in the app. Payments to a personal profile get Purchase Protection only if tagged as a purchase (Venmo)	Venmo
Cash App	Report it in the app: go to your profile, then Support (FTC)	Cash App
PayPal	Report it to PayPal. Goods and Services payments get PayPal Purchase Protection; Friends and Family payments don’t (PayPal)	PayPal
Credit or debit card	Call the number on the card and ask for a refund	Card
Gift card	Call the card company, say a scammer has the number and PIN, and keep the card	Gift cards
Crypto or Bitcoin ATM	Contact the exchange or ATM operator and ask it to reverse the transaction	Bitcoin ATM

Paid cash at a pickup? Report it to your local police using their non-emergency number or website (CFPB), and to Facebook.

Can you get scammed on Facebook Marketplace shipping?

Yes, whether you’re buying or selling.

Buying. The common trick: a seller wants payment up front, outside checkout, then never ships. Meta says to avoid sellers who ask for payment before providing the item, and to verify tracking numbers on the shipping company’s own website (Meta). The FTC warns that if you pay outside a marketplace’s payment system, you lose its protection and probably won’t get the item or a refund (FTC). If a seller pushes a PayPal Friends and Family payment for a purchase, PayPal says to refuse (PayPal).

Selling. If you sell with Marketplace shipping, Meta says its prepaid shipping labels give you extra protection if something goes wrong in transit; with your own label, those protections don’t apply (Meta). The bigger risk is a “buyer” who pays some other way and asks you to ship.

If you were the seller: scams to spot

• Fake payment notices and screenshots. Scam buyers send a fake payment notification and hope you ship before you notice (FTC). Meta says never to trust screenshots of payments, and to always check your account to confirm (Meta).
• “Upgrade” or fee emails. Fake emails that look like they’re from Zelle or Venmo may say you must upgrade your account or pay a fee before you can accept the money (Meta). Zelle says there are no upgrades, and its emails come only from @zelle.com or @zellepay.com (Zelle). Venmo says a payment that only “arrives” after you ship and upload tracking is fake; it’s not a feature Venmo offers (Venmo).
• Overpayments and fake checks. The buyer “accidentally” overpays, sometimes saying the extra is for movers, and asks for the difference back (Meta). A fake check can show up in your balance, but the FTC says it can take weeks for the bank to catch it, and then the bank takes the money back out of your account. Never deposit a check for more than the selling price (FTC). Already deposited one? See I deposited a fake check.
• Payments that get pulled back. Venmo warns that a buyer may pay with a stolen card or bank account. If the real owner reports it, the money can be removed from your account (Venmo).
• Verification codes. Meta lists requests for codes, such as a Google Voice code, as phishing (Meta). See step 4.

Already shipped, or sent money back? Report the buyer to Facebook and call your bank or payment app right away. Deposited a check? Talk to your bank before you send anything. The Postal Inspection Service says banks don’t absorb these losses: you’re responsible for the funds you deposit and withdraw (USPIS).

Fake rentals, pets and big-ticket listings

In April 2026, the FTC reported that a recent analysis of reports about fake rental home listings found about half were posted on Facebook (FTC). Purchase Protection doesn’t cover vehicles or rentals.

• Meta says not to send deposits for high-value items, such as apartments or cars, until you confirm they’re real, in person or over video chat (Meta).
• Fake landlords often claim to be out of the country and rush you. If anyone insists you pay by wire transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency, the FTC says it’s a scam (FTC).
• For pets, the FTC says only scammers say you must pay with gift cards, a payment app, cryptocurrency or a wire transfer service (FTC).

How to report it

The FTC says most scams aren’t reported, so real losses are likely much higher. In 2025, people reported losing more money to scams that started on Facebook than on any other social media platform (FTC).

1. Facebook: report the person and the listing (step 3).
2. FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
3. FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center: IC3.gov takes complaints about internet crime, including non-delivery of goods. IC3 doesn’t investigate cases itself, and you won’t hear back from it (IC3). More: is IC3 legit?
4. Your state attorney general: find your office on the Find my AG page.
5. Local police: use the non-emergency number or website (CFPB). For a fake rental, the FTC says to report it to local law enforcement and to the site where the ad ran (FTC).
6. Fake checks: report them to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, too (FTC).
7. Fake payment emails: forward them to reportphishing@apwg.org (FTC).
8. CFPB: if your bank or payment app mishandles your claim, you can submit a complaint.

The report-a-scam tool and the scam recovery checklist can help you keep track.

Watch for the follow-up scam

The FTC says scammers buy, sell and trade lists of people who’ve already lost money, then offer to get it back for a fee (FTC). Anyone who asks for an upfront fee to recover your money is a scammer. IC3 says it never contacts people directly for information or money (IC3).

If a “buyer,” “seller” or “Facebook” message says there’s a problem with your payment, don’t click any links (Meta). Check your order and your payment app yourself.

What varies

• How you paid. Each bank, card and app sets its own rules and deadlines.
• What you bought, and where. Vehicles, rentals, services and orders over $2,000 fall outside Purchase Protection, and Meta’s help pages say checkout and Purchase Protection aren’t available in every location (Meta).
• Timing. Meta’s claim windows are short, and Meta updates these rules. Check its help pages for the version that applies to your order.