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Watch out for this Zelle imposter scam on Facebook Marketplace

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson shows you how to protect yourself against scanners and hackers looking for victims on Facebook Marketplace, including Zelle impostors.

You've heard all the horror stories of people getting scammed trying to buy products on Facebook Marketplace. Now it is happening to sellers. Some people who use Facebook Marketplace have fallen victim to a wicked Zelle scam while trying to innocently sell items on the site to make some extra cash.

A recent study from BeenVerified found that in the past year, scams on Facebook Marketplace have increased by 184%. If you think that's bad, Zelle also had an increase in their scams by 86%.

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The Zelle imposter scam happening on Facebook Marketplace specifically is connected to phishing emails pretending to be Zelle. The scammers are aiming to trick buyers on the site into responding to these phishing emails impersonating Zelle.

They will start by reaching out to a seller and asking if they can pay for a product using Zelle. 

Since Zelle has grown in popularity over the years to transfer money fast, most people accept this agreement. However, the scammer will repeatedly ask if the seller has received the payment once they've "sent" it. 

When the seller doesn't receive any Zelle notification, the scammer will ask the seller to check their spam folder. Lo and behold, there's a fake Zelle email disguised as a legit Zelle notification waiting in the seller's spam folder just for them to open it and get hacked.

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There are a few things you should always be on the lookout for to avoid falling for a social media scam:

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR FACEBOOK PASSWORD

Additionally, be wary of deals that seem too good to be true and always thoroughly research the seller before making a purchase.

Have you or someone you know been scammed using Facebook Marketplace? Tell us what happened. We'd love to hear from you.

For more of my tips, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by clicking the "Free newsletter" link at the top of my website.

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