I made a purchase on Marketplace but it wasn't what was advertised - now I'm out $280 and I've been blocked

ONLINE scams are becoming all the more common, so being hypervigilant is key.

A Facebook Marketplace user was scammed out of $280 due to a counterfeit product.

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COUNTERFEIT SCAM

The user shared the details of the scam to the subreddit r/FacebookMarketplace.

They explained how they purchased an item off of the social media marketplace for $280 in an in-person cash exchange.

The item ended up being a counterfeit item.

After confronting the seller upon realizing it was a scam, the seller blocked the user.

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"Is there anything I can do to get any of my money back?

"I’m going to have my boyfriend try to find the seller for me from his account so we can actually report it but I just want to know if there’s anything else I can do to increase the likelihood of me getting any money back," wrote the user.

REDDIT REACTS

Several Redditors chimed in to give the poster advice.

One noted that "Caveat Emptor applies here," which references the principle that it is the sole responsibility of a buyer to check the quality of a good before purchasing it.

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They added that the user could sue the seller, but that it was likely not worth the trouble for only $280.

Another user suggested filing a police report, contacting the seller from a different number, and sending them a picture of the police report.

The poster clarified that the transaction was done through Messenger and that they didn't have the seller's number.

Other users advised the poster to have someone else pose as a legit buyer and meet up with the seller, recording the transaction and/or getting the cops involved.

Many suggested just taking it as a lesson.

"If the $280 isn't worth the effort, just take it as a lesson learned and move on. Sucks this scum will likely go on to scam others too but there's only so much you can do on your own end," wrote one user.

ANOTHER SCAM

The Marketplace user wasn't the only one down some cash due to an online scam.

Another Redditor was scammed by a fake online job posting.

They were contacted through an online job board about a job and interviewed through Microsoft Teams.

The company then offered the user a position and asked them to sign the job offer letter and complete a W-4.

The user did so and was then told that they would need equipment for the job, which the company would provide to them.

The company sent the user a $4,900 check that cleared, and the employer proceeded to ask them to Zelle $1,000 to a woman in Las Vegas.

The skeptical user did so, and immediately after the money went through, the employer asked them to send another $3,700 to the same woman.

"Feeling uneasy, I told the employer it failed, they bought it."

"I googled the circumstances, and have determined I fell for a common scam (yes, I feel dumb)," they wrote.

Many Redditors alerted the user that they had fallen for a fake check scam, and that they should reach out to their bank's fraud department.

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In other scam news, one person lost $20k because a pop-up ad said they bought their program and they clicked it.

Another person's husband "lost our life savings" and their entire account was wiped.