How to sell things online without getting scammed

2 min read · 8 steps · Updated 3 October 2026

Selling a phone, a bike or furniture on a marketplace is usually quick and trouble-free. The scams that do exist target the seller, not the buyer, and they follow three patterns that the US consumer protection agency FTC warns about. Once you know them, they are easy to refuse.

This is general information, not financial or legal advice. Rules and consumer rights differ from country to country.

Step by step

1. Prefer local buyers and cash

   For anything you can hand over in person, meet the buyer in a public place in daylight, such as a busy car park or a cafe, and take cash. Count it before you let go of the item. For expensive items, meet at a bank, where notes can be checked and paid in.

   Done

2. Scam 1: the fake payment

   The buyer sends a screenshot or an email that looks like a payment confirmation, or says the app shows the money as pending until you ship. Look in your own banking or payment app, opened by yourself, not through a link. If the money is not there, it has not been paid.

   Done

3. Scam 2: the overpayment

   The buyer pays too much by cheque or transfer, apologises and asks you to send back the difference. The original payment later bounces or is reversed, and your refund is gone, along with the item. Never refund an overpayment. Cancel the sale.

   Done

4. Scam 3: the verification code

   The buyer says they need to check that you are real and asks you to read out a code that arrives by text. That code lets them set up or take over an account with your phone number. Never share any code with anyone.

   Done

5. Watch for the courier trick

   A buyer who is abroad or sends a courier with a prepaid label, and asks you to pay a fee or insurance first, is not a buyer. The same goes for links to a page where you are to enter your card details to receive the money. You never need to enter card details or a PIN to be paid.

   Done

6. Stay on the platform

   Keep the conversation in the marketplace's own chat and use its payment and shipping system if it has one. Seller protection usually applies only then. A buyer who pushes you to switch to email or a messenger at once is a warning sign.

   Done

7. Ship safely

   Send only after the payment has fully arrived, use a tracked service, send to the address given in the payment, and keep the proof of posting. Photograph the item and the packed parcel.

   Done

8. Protect your own data

   Wipe phones, tablets and computers before you sell them: what to do before you sell or give away an iPhone, how to factory reset an Android phone, a Mac or a Windows 11 PC.

   Done

Good to know

Do not give out your home address before the sale is agreed, and do not show documents such as your ID to a buyer.

If you were tricked, act fast: what to do if you were scammed. Report the profile to the platform as well.

The pattern behind all of these: how to spot a scam: the 4 signs that give it away.

In short: Local, in person, cash. Check payments in your own app. Never refund an overpayment, never share a code, never enter card details to get paid. Stay on the platform and ship tracked.