Beware of Poshmark Scam When Selling: 5 Signs You Should Look For

I love advising my clients and readers to donate or sell items they no longer use or need, however online can be a hard place to sell your items when you don’t know what you are doing. It can be so easy: too easy to fall for a trap like a Poshmark scam. Especially when it is getting trickier to see the difference.

Personally, I would rather donate than sell anything. It’s about giving with no incline to receive anything back for me. Of course, no judgment from me since everyone’s circ*mstances are different and some things need to be sold but I didn’t choose that road for myself until recently. I bought two items that I didn’t realize weren’t my size until it was too late to return, so I thought I would try the whole online route for once.

As a newbie seller, I ended up falling into a scam trap of a fake person posing to be interested in buying my item which ended with money being taken from my bank account. Therefore, I thought today would be a good day to walk you through what not to do if you are a newbie seller on Poshmark. Even though I am talking about a Poshmark scam, these tips will apply to other sites or users trying to trap you as well.

How to Spot Fake Customers

When you are new to a site like Poshmark you have no idea what happens after you make a sale which makes you an easy target.

There are fake customers who will pretend to not be able to see the photos you posted so they will ask you to send the photo to them through their email. The excuse can be as simple as they can’t see it properly on the site because of their internet, ect. Then give you their email right in the comment section.

Red Flag! People will not usually put their email in the comments for everyone to see. Email is considered personal information and it is unlikely a real customer will put it there. A private chat or message section is more secure.

Sending Photos to Customers

To help the customer out, you may think that it is a good idea to resend them the photos through your email. You may think that you just want to help the person out and give great customer service.

Red Flag! The site is pretty easy to see the photos therefore you really don’t need to send anything further. The fake customer aka scammer is using the photo and now has your email to lure you into the next step.

1. You’ll receive a Poshmark Email saying you have an Item Sold

These emails are extremely important to pay attention to because it looks very legit. I suggest always looking at information through your email website instead of an app on your phone because it is clearer to see the entire email that way and easier to see the red flags signs this way.

Through my phone app:

Through the email version on the phone, you can only see your email (or the email you used to send to the scammer) and not the sender’s email address very clearly. This makes it easy to not be able to see the potential scam.

Through the email website:

Red Flag!The email address is not correct.Ensure that it has the company email. You can double-check past emails they have sent you before as a reference.

2. Confirmation Button

Once you click the button it will bring you to a page where it has the item that you are selling and a chat box. They want you to use the chat box to communicate with them. It may feel like the right thing to do but they are simply taking your money and not giving it.

Red Flag! Never put your card information in through an email link. The company site has this info, you would not need to do this again.

3. Chatbox Feature

If you chat with them, you will get instructions expressing that because it’s your first time selling and they will need to charge 500 to your bank to ensure your identity. They also mention that you can use another card or someone else’s if your card doesn’t work. In this case, they are trying to get you and someone else’s card. Don’t do it.

Red Flag! Poshmark doesn’t currently have a chat box feature. Nor would a customer service person tell you to use a family or friend’s credit card. A charge from a company also wouldn’t be such a large amount, at most between $1-8.

4. Confirmation Code

We all have gotten a confirmation code through our phones however scammers can do this as well. They will tell you to send them a confirmation code that will be sent to your phone.

Red Flag! Double-check who this confirmation code is coming from. The confirmation code is usually from your bank to ensure it is you, don’t give them that code. Typically whenever you receive a confirmation code from the company it wouldn’t say it is coming from your bank.

5. Last Step in the Scam

They want you to come back to tell them you have received the amount. They are trying to either repeat what they have already done or the link won’t work within the 24 hours they messaged you.

Red Flag! You would never need to return to that same link in order to reach customer service. If that were the case you would be going to the site, not the link in your email.

What to do if you got Scammed

If you made it this far, you have most likely fallen for a Poshmark scam. To really know if you have, you need to check your bank account, likely money would have been taken out of your account. Next, check the Poshmark site, you will notice that your listing is still live and not showing that it has been purchased.

Don’t worry here is what you can do:

Report these unauthorized purchases to your bank
Your bank will report it to their fraud department
Your bank will cancel the card used and will send a new one to you
Report to the site what happened. If possible, take a screenshot of your listing, the profile of the customer and the email they used to scam you
Wait for your new cards to arrive and update all the sites that have your old card attached to it

Final Thoughts

Poshmark can be a great platform for buying and selling, but you should also be aware that there are also scammers out there too. I hope you read this before falling into a Poshmark scam and learned the signs of a potential scam so you can stay safe when selling items. Honestly, I don’t want anyone to go through what I did, so let me know in the comments if this is useful to you.

Related:

Beware of Credit Card Fraud Online: 4 Unauthorized Transaction Signs You Should Look For
How to Make Money While Shopping Online Easily
How to Be Safe and Happy While Online Shopping?
8 Best Sites to Sell Your Used Wedding Dresses and Wedding Items

What’s your take?I welcome you to share yours below!

*This post contains no affiliate link. My opinions are 100% my own. For more information, see my disclosures page.*

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Beware of Poshmark Scam When Selling: 5 Signs You Should Look For - City of Creative Dreams (2024)