Most online scams happen because the buyer can't actually verify who the seller is. Here is a clear, no-nonsense checklist you can use on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, OLX, DoneDeal, Mercado Libre, Carousell — anywhere with anonymous listings. Or skip the work and use a marketplace where every seller is already verified.
A polished listing means nothing. A real profile has photos that don't reverse-image-search to a stock site, a long enough account history to predate the listing, reviews from real conversations, and a consistent name. New accounts with one listing and no history are the single biggest red flag.
Ask for a video call before you pay anything substantial. A scammer will refuse, claim a broken camera, or vanish. If the marketplace offers ID-verified sellers (Safegram Exchange does, Facebook Marketplace doesn't), filter to verified only — it cuts scam attempts by an order of magnitude.
Never pay through links sent in chat. Use the marketplace's built-in payment if it exists, or meet in person and pay on the spot. Bank transfers, gift cards, crypto and Pix to a phone number are the four payment methods scammers prefer because they're irreversible.
Price way below market, urgency ('I have another buyer waiting'), refusal to do a video call, off-platform payment, shipping requests for a local item, sob stories about why they can't meet — any one of these is a hard stop.
On Safegram Exchange, every seller is identity-verified before they can list. You can see a verified Trust Ring on every profile, chat in end-to-end encrypted DMs, and avoid almost all of the verification work above. It's the same idea as eBay or Vinted's verified-seller programmes, but applied to every listing by default — not just the premium ones.
Facebook Marketplace doesn't verify seller identity. The best you can do is check account age, ask for a video call, reverse-image-search the profile photo, and refuse off-platform payment. Even then, the scam rate is high — which is why verified marketplaces like Safegram Exchange exist.
In-person cash, an escrow service, or the marketplace's built-in payment. Avoid bank transfer, gift cards, crypto, and instant payment to a phone number — those are irreversible and preferred by scammers.
A verified seller is someone who has passed a government-ID check (and sometimes a selfie liveness check) with the marketplace. On Safegram, every seller on Safegram Exchange is verified before they can list. This makes impersonation and throwaway-account scams effectively impossible.
Yes, with basic precautions: meet during the day in a public place (a police station car park or a busy shopping centre), bring a friend, pay in cash, and inspect the item fully before handing over money.
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