Is Facebook Marketplace safe for buyers?

What the numbers say

Marketplace is huge, so its scam numbers are huge too. They are worth reading closely, because they show where the risk actually sits.

• Facebook leads for losses. The US Federal Trade Commission counted $2.1 billion in reported losses to scams that started on social media in 2025. Online shopping was the most reported type, and Facebook was the platform with the highest reported losses.
• Rentals are a hot spot. The FTC has had about 65,000 reports of rental scams since 2020, with $65 million lost and a median loss of $1,000. About half of the rental scams reported in the 12 months to June 2025 started on Facebook.
• Canada set a record. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre recorded more than $704 million in reported fraud losses in 2025, from over 112,000 reports. Merchandise fraud (paying for goods that never come) made up 2,596 reports and $11.7 million. The CAFC estimates only 5 to 10% of fraud is reported at all.
• Buying online is a top risk. In the Better Business Bureau’s 2025 Risk Report, online purchase scams ranked third riskiest and made up 28.4% of all Scam Tracker reports.

What the numbers don’t say is that a typical local deal is dangerous. Almost every loss above involves money sent before the buyer had the item: a deposit, a shipped item paid off-platform, a rental “secured” sight unseen. A sofa you look at, sit on and then pay for at the door is a different kind of transaction.

Where the risk is

Seven rules for buying safely

1. See it before you pay. No deposits, no “hold” payments, no shipping for things you can collect. Our deposit scam guide explains why.
2. Pay at the pickup. Cash or an instant transfer you send on the spot, after you’ve checked the item. For shipped items, use Facebook checkout. Our guide to paying safely on Marketplace compares every method.
3. Keep the chat on Facebook. A seller who wants to move to WhatsApp, text or email is moving the conversation somewhere Facebook can’t see it. Meta warns about sellers who send links to other sites, and a chat that leaves Facebook leaves its scam detection behind too.
4. Never share a verification code. If someone asks you to read back a code sent to your phone “to prove you’re real”, it’s a scam. The FTC is blunt about it: if you didn’t contact them first, it’s a scam every time.
5. Meet somewhere public, in daylight, ideally at a police exchange zone. More on that below.
6. Bring someone, and tell someone. Share the listing and the meeting place with a friend.
7. Trust your gut. If the place changes at the last minute, an extra person turns up, or the price changes, leave. The item will come round again.

Test before you pay: plug it in, turn it on, sit on it, check that a phone isn’t locked to someone else’s account. Calgary police also suggest checking an item’s serial number against the Canadian Police Information Centre’s online database of stolen property.

Where to meet

Police exchange zones are marked spots at or beside police stations, well lit and covered by cameras. Officers don’t watch the deal or check the item, but few robbers want to work under a police camera. Some examples:

• Vancouver: the Vancouver Police Department runs a well-lit, camera-monitored safe-exchange location at its headquarters, 2120 Cambie Street. VPD issued a warning in 2022 after three robberies of Marketplace sellers in four days, one involving a gun, even though the victims had met in public places.
• Calgary: Calgary police invite people to use the parking lots of their district offices for exchanges.
• Toronto: Toronto police set up an exchange zone at a downtown division, reported by CBC.
• United States: many city and county police departments host “safe exchange zones”. Check your local department’s website.

No zone nearby? Choose a busy, well-lit public place with cameras, like a bank or a supermarket entrance, during the day. For furniture and other big items, a home pickup is normal. Bring someone, agree to do the handover at the door or in the garage, and don’t carry more cash than the agreed price.

If you feel awkward suggesting the police station, make it about convenience: “Can we meet at the exchange zone at the police station on Cambie? It’s easy parking and on my way.” An honest seller rarely minds.

How to check a seller’s profile

Meta’s advice is to review a seller’s profile and ratings before you buy. Thirty seconds on the profile tells you a lot:

• How old is the account? The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre lists recently created profiles as a red flag.
• Ratings and past listings. A few sold items and some ratings are a good sign. A brand-new profile listing ten of the same item, or the same item in several cities, is not.
• The photos. Run the listing photos through Google Lens. Pictures lifted from a store or an older listing are a classic fake.
• The name. If you do pay by transfer, the name on the receiving account should match the seller you met.

For the full checklist, with the phrases scammers use, see our guide to Facebook Marketplace scams.

Is Kijiji safer?

Not really, and not less safe either. The same scams run on both: deposits to hold, fake shipping and escrow, e-Transfer tricks, too-good-to-be-true cars and rentals. Facebook gives you a profile with some history to check; Kijiji gives you stronger structure for cars and rentals, and a dealer or private filter on Kijiji Autos. The rules above work on both. Our Kijiji scams guide covers what’s specific to Kijiji, and Facebook Marketplace vs Kijiji compares the two.

How Sift helps

No tool makes buying safe; meeting, inspecting and paying at pickup do. What Sift, a free browser extension for Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji, can do is point out the warning signs before you message. It puts a “Check this” chip on listings that ask for a deposit or payment first, push you to WhatsApp, text or email, come from a seller who is moving away or ships only, or are priced far below the rest of the page. Green chips mark good signs, such as receipts, one owner or service records. Sift runs in Chrome, Edge and Brave on a computer.