Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji scams: how to stay safe

Why marketplaces are scammer territory

Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji put strangers, money, and pressure to act fast in one place - everything a scammer needs. Most deals are fine, and most people are honest. But the same handful of tricks comes around again and again, targeting both sides of the deal. Learn them once and they're easy to spot.

If you're selling

• The fake payment screenshot. A buyer "sends" an e-Transfer and shows you a screenshot, or forwards a confirmation email. Screenshots are just images, and emails are easy to fake. Money is real only when it appears in your banking app - check there, nowhere else.
• The overpayment "mistake". The buyer pays "too much" - with a fake or reversible payment - and asks you to refund the difference. Their payment evaporates; your refund was real. Never refund an overpayment: cancel the whole deal instead.
• "My courier will pick it up." A distant buyer wants to send a shipping company, and somehow you end up paying "insurance" or "release fees" you'll be "reimbursed" for. Real buyers who can't show up don't need you to pay anyone.
• The fake "payment held" email. A message dressed up as Interac or the platform says the funds are "on hold until you ship", or until you "upgrade your account". Interac doesn't hold money hostage like that - it's a fake.

If you're buying

• Deposits for something you haven't seen. Puppies, apartments, cars, concert tickets - the listing is appealing, the price is great, and you "just" need to e-Transfer a deposit to hold it. The photos were stolen from another listing; there is no puppy. Never send money for something you haven't seen in person.
• A price too good, with a clock attached. "Lots of interest - send a deposit now or lose it." Pressure is the tell. A genuine seller doesn't need your money before you've seen the item.
• Moving off-platform immediately. Scammers push the chat to text or WhatsApp fast, where the platform can't see or ban them - then send "payment" or "courier" links. Check any link they send before you tap it.

Meet like it's the 1990s

The strongest scam-killer is the in-person exchange:

• Meet in a busy public place - a coffee shop, a mall. Many police services offer designated buy-and-sell exchange zones; use one for expensive items.
• Go in daylight, bring a friend, and tell someone where you're going.
• For apartments: never pay anything before visiting in person and verifying who you're dealing with.

The golden rules for money

• Pay - or accept payment - only when the item and the money change hands together: cash, or an e-Transfer sent and confirmed at the meetup.
• Turn on auto-deposit so incoming e-Transfers land instantly and can't be imitated by fake "click to deposit" pages.
• Never refund an "overpayment", and never pay fees to receive money.
• No gift cards, no crypto, no wire transfers - those are scam currencies.

Before you trust a link or a "confirmation"

Scam listings and fake payment pages live or die on their links. If a buyer or seller sends you a payment link, a "courier tracking" page, or anything that asks you to log in, paste it into our Link Checker first - it flags look-alike domains and freshly registered scam sites before you visit them.