A buyer wants me to send them a code to prove I'm a real person. Is that ever legitimate?

No. There is no service where one stranger verifies another by having them read back a code. The code arrives from a company, not from the buyer, and it is addressed to you because someone is trying to open or recover an account using your phone number. Sending it hands them that account. The wording — "just checking you're not a bot" — is the giveaway, because a real buyer has no way to run such a check and no reason to.

Is a screenshot of a payment proof that I've been paid?

No. A screenshot is an image, and images can be edited or simply taken from someone else's screen. The same goes for an email saying funds are being held until you ship. Only your own banking or payment app, opened by you, can tell you whether money has arrived. If it isn't in there, you haven't been paid.

The buyer says their shipper will collect the item. Why is that a problem?

Because it separates handing over the item from being paid. A courier the buyer arranged will take the goods on their say-so, and the payment you were shown was never real or gets reversed afterwards. For local selling there's no reason a collection can't happen with you present and the money already settled in your account.

I already sent someone a verification code. What can I do?

Act quickly on whichever account the code was for. Go to that service directly and use its account recovery flow to reclaim the number or the account, change the password, and turn on two-factor authentication. Check your email account too, since recovery codes often land there. Then tell anyone who might be contacted from that account that it may not be you.

← Is This A Scam?

Facebook Marketplace Scams: Buying and Selling

Most Marketplace scams aren't about the item at all. They're about getting you to hand over something before money has actually moved — the goods, a code, or a refund of money you never received.

Buying and selling between strangers has one built-in problem: somebody has to go first. Every scam below is a way of making sure it's you, and of making the other side of the deal look like it already happened when it hasn't.

The useful habit is simple. Separate what you have seen from what you have been shown. A message, an email and a screenshot are things you have been shown.

The one that catches sellers first

You list a sofa. Within minutes, this arrives:

Hi! Still available? I really want it but there are a lot of fake listings on here so I have to be careful. I'm sending a 6-digit code to your number right now — just send it back so I know you're a real seller and then I'll arrange pickup.

No questions about the sofa. The framing is clever: they're the cautious one, you're being asked to reassure them, and it costs you nothing. Seconds later a code really does arrive on your phone — because they typed your number into a signup or account recovery form while you were reading.

What the code actually does

Codes like this are how a service confirms that whoever is signing up controls the phone number they entered. Read it back and you have confirmed it on their behalf. Depending on which form they used, they now have a phone number registered in your name to run further scams from, or access to an account of yours that used your number for recovery. Either way the code was never about you being real. It was the last thing standing between them and something they wanted.

A code sent to you belongs to you and to nobody else. That rule holds everywhere, which is why it comes up again in our guide to bank fraud alert texts, where the caller asking for it sounds far more official than a sofa buyer.

Red flags to look for

Any request for a code, PIN or number that was texted to you — however it's justified. Verification that works this way does not exist.
The first message pushes the conversation to text, WhatsApp or email before anything about the item has been agreed. Off-platform, there's no record and no reporting.
No questions about the thing itself. A genuine buyer asks about condition, dimensions, whether it fits in a car, and usually tries to knock the price down. A scammer agrees to the full price instantly.
They offer to pay more than you asked, then want the extra sent back to cover "the courier". The overpayment is the scam; the refund is real money leaving your account.
"My shipper will collect it" or "my assistant will drop the cash" — anything that means the item leaves before cleared money arrives.
Proof of payment that isn't your own bank app: a screenshot, a forwarded confirmation email, or a page saying funds are held until you enter a tracking number or pay a release fee.
As a buyer: a price well below anything similar, a seller who won't meet or video the item, and a deposit requested to "hold it" because other people are interested.

Safer ways to buy and sell

1Keep the whole conversation in Marketplace messages until you've met. If someone insists on moving off it early, that alone is enough reason to stop.
2Never send a code, and never read one out. If you've just received one you didn't request, ignore it — receiving it does nothing, only passing it on does.
3Meet in person, somewhere public and busy, in daylight. Some police stations have a marked exchange area outside; a supermarket car park with cameras works too. Take someone with you for anything bulky or expensive.
4Take cash, or use a payment app you opened yourself and watch the balance change in your own account before the item leaves your hands. Don't accept a screenshot, an email or a pending notification as payment.
5Never refund, forward or return any part of a payment. If someone genuinely overpaid, the fix is for them to cancel it at their end, not for you to send money to a stranger.
6As a buyer, see the item working before you pay, and don't send a deposit to hold something. If you paid for something that never arrived, report the listing and the profile so the account can be acted on.

Not sure about a buyer or seller message?

Paste it into the free checker and see the specific red flags in it. No signup, no email.

Check a message

If something already went wrong

Move on whichever thing is still recoverable. A code you sent means an account to reclaim right now. Money you sent means your bank or payment provider, immediately, using a number you looked up yourself. An item you shipped means the courier, in case it can still be stopped.

If the buyer sent you a link to a "shipping portal" or a payment confirmation page, don't enter anything on it — it's a form dressed up as a receipt, and checking the address usually settles it in seconds. Our reporting guide covers the order to work through and where to file a report.

Common questions

A buyer wants me to send them a code to prove I'm a real person. Is that ever legitimate?: No. There is no service where one stranger verifies another by having them read back a code. The code arrives from a company, not from the buyer, and it is addressed to you because someone is trying to open or recover an account using your phone number. Sending it hands them that account. The wording — "just checking you're not a bot" — is the giveaway, because a real buyer has no way to run such a check and no reason to.
Is a screenshot of a payment proof that I've been paid?: No. A screenshot is an image, and images can be edited or simply taken from someone else's screen. The same goes for an email saying funds are being held until you ship. Only your own banking or payment app, opened by you, can tell you whether money has arrived. If it isn't in there, you haven't been paid.
The buyer says their shipper will collect the item. Why is that a problem?: Because it separates handing over the item from being paid. A courier the buyer arranged will take the goods on their say-so, and the payment you were shown was never real or gets reversed afterwards. For local selling there's no reason a collection can't happen with you present and the money already settled in your account.
I already sent someone a verification code. What can I do?: Act quickly on whichever account the code was for. Go to that service directly and use its account recovery flow to reclaim the number or the account, change the password, and turn on two-factor authentication. Check your email account too, since recovery codes often land there. Then tell anyone who might be contacted from that account that it may not be you.

This page is informational and we aren't affiliated with any company or agency named on it. We can't tell you whether your specific message is genuine. Verify independently: open the company's official app or type their website address yourself, and call the number printed on your card, statement, or the back of your ID — never a number supplied by the message.

Want simple scam alerts for your family?

Join the early-access list. This is an idea we're testing, not an active protection service — nothing is monitored today, and joining changes nothing about your accounts.