Selling something online?  How to spot the scammers!Better Business BureauCheck out all the BBB Scambusters at joeknowsbetter.com Watch out when selling items on Facebook Marketplace or other online selling sites. Scammers are using an old trick to take a lot of new money. According to BBB Scam Tracker reports, be wary of phony buyers who need you to upgrade your Zelle or another digital wallet app to accept money from them.How the scam worksYou list an item on Facebook Marketplace. You are quickly contacted by a buyer who wants to pay using a peer-to-peer payment app. Recent BBB Scam Tracker reports reference Zelle, but this scam could also work with CashApp, Venmo (a BBB Accredited Business), or another similar service.Shortly after receiving the payment, you get an email, supposedly from Zelle. Allegedly, the buyer paid via a Zelle business account. Now, you also need to upgrade your account to business status to accept the transfer. To do so, the buyer will need to send you another $300. They are happy to do you a favor - if you promise to refund them.One scam victim reported this experience: I received an email from [email protected] explaining that the funds were waiting, but the buyer had to send an additional $300 to upgrade my account because the transaction was over $600, and I would need a business account. The scammer then sent the extra funds and included screenshots of his Zelle app with the money deducted from his account. Then, he started pressuring the victim into repaying him: He was very upset and persistent that I needed to pay him back for the fees that he incurred on my behalf.If you refund the scammer, youll quickly realize that they never sent you any money in the first place. Youll be out a few hundred dollars, and the scammer will disappear.How to avoid scams when selling online: Dont trust anyone willing to overpay you. Unless your item is rare and you receive multiple offers, be wary of buyers offering you more than your asking price. Consider it a red flag if someone is quick to send you more money than you are asking. Check email addresses carefully. If you seem to have received an email from Zelle or another payment app, double-check the email address. Scammers use fake email addresses that are similar to official ones. Get to know payment app policies before you use them. If someone claims you need a business account to accept payments, check the apps official website or contact customer service to find out if the claim is true. Scammers often make up fake policies to trick their victims. Report scams to Facebook Marketplace. If you spot a seller trying to pull off a scam, report them. Your report can help protect other unsuspecting sellers.For more informationReport suspicious activity to Facebook and BBB.org/ScamTracker, even if you didnt fall for the scam.If buying online, check out seller reviews at bbb.org ...read more read less