A new Facebook Marketplace scam “has victimized people in the Okanagan,” Kelowna, B.C., Mounties say.
“In this scam the potential buyer offers to pay full price for the item, or items, and claims they will e-transfer the funds to the seller, telling them to check their email for a notification,” RCMP said in a press release.
“When the email arrives, there is a link that takes the seller to a legitimate-looking bank webpage. The seller then enters their bank information along with their phone number to receive a verification code through a text message that also needs to be entered.”
Once all the information is entered, scammers can gain direct access to the victim’s bank account and transfer funds out.
“This is an extremely sophisticated scam that is a variation of the one-time passcode scam,” Sgt. Laura Pollock, Kelowna RCMP media relations officer, said. “We encourage you to make your marketplace exchanges in public locations with security cameras.”
If you are the victim of a fraud or scam please call the Kelowna RCMP detachment to report it at 250-762-3300.