SAN ANTONIO — A Spring Branch resident says she paid in-full for home furnishings on Facebook Marketplace.
Amanda Pelletier, a 27-year veteran of the Air Force, told KENS 5 that nearly four months later, she has yet to receive anything she paid for.
It should be noted, Pelletier didn't find the seller out of the blue. She says her daughter had a pleasant experience with the vendor, convincing her to patronize the business, too.
Unfortunately, Pelletier says her experience was quite the opposite.
Experts say she's not alone.
"It was just lies. One lie after another," said Pelletier.
In February, as Pelletier and her husband were nearing retirement from the military, they decided to stay in Spring Branch and found the perfect home.
Her perfect home needed the perfect furnishings.
"I did some research and noticed, 'Ok, well she is legit. She's got an LLC,'" said Pelletier, referring to the seller who she says is based in Oklahoma.
March 8, Pelletier got connected to the seller who advertises Facebook marketplace. They began conversations via text message.
At first, the interaction was going well, Pelletier said. She says the seller claimed to have many pieces of furniture in storage that had an affordable price tag.
Pelletier said the seller only took payments via CashApp.
"Lots of exchanges of money," Pelletier explained. "[The seller] said, 'I can get you these two side tables for $500. I can get you this entry piece.'"
All of the furnishings would be perfect for the new home. Pelletier even purchased wallpaper from the seller to accompany the furniture. Every piece was supposed to be delivered by mid-April, Pelletier recalls, but to this day, not a single item has arrived.
"I started getting excuses from her. It started that she got sawdust in her eye and she wasn't gonna be able to make it. Then it went on," said Pelletier. "When it was all said and done, it equated to $4,000...I didn't really want to escalate it to the law, but she leaves me no choice."
Cybersecurity experts with VPNOverview.com report an explosion of recent searches worldwide for "Facebook Marketplace scam" by nearly 270%.
"It's truly skyrocketing," said Jason Meza, Senior Regional Director of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). "Facebook Marketplace is truly a Wild West."
The BBB says the majority of fraud reports on Facebook Marketplace are for concert tickets, pre-sale items and big-ticket items like cars or pets.
"The fear is real of missing out on a great deal," said Meza. "So we feel compelled to give them their business."
To avoid falling victim to fraud on Facebook Marketplace, the BBB says:
- Don't trust Facebook sellers without a profile picture
- Stay on the Facebook platform to communicate with the buyer or seller
- Try googling the seller's name with the word 'scam' to see if fraud stories pop up
- Be wary of deals that seem too good to be true
"Save everything, receipts, transactions, communication, texts. Whatever you have from buyer or seller, everything helps to prove your case," Meza explained. "Prosecutions are far and few between. Money back, if you're not using secure methods is even tougher to get."
If you feel you're a victim of fraud on Facebook Marketplace, report the buyer or seller to Facebook.
If you used a debit or credit card, start the dispute process right away.
Like Pelletier, you should also report any scam to the Better Business Bureau using their scam tracker.
"It's hard to prove uphill fraud," said Meza. "If you authorized the charge yourself, don't use peer-to-peer digital wallets like your Venmo's, your Cash Apps because those should be for friends and family."
According to Facebook's Purchase Protection Policies, many purchases on the site are covered.
Facebook says anything bought through third-party sites, local pickups, Messenger transactions, or through other messaging services don't qualify for Purchase Protection.
"I think in the end, Facebook wants as much to avoid fraud as the next platform as well," Meza explained. "So if they know what's going on there, they're usually pretty quick to take down profiles or put a sensor in place to say, you know what, this is probably the second or third pattern we received. So they're very diligent about that."
Pelletier says her experience hasn't deterred her completely from using Facebook Marketplace. She's already had other pleasant experiences from local buyers.
From now on, she says she'll buy locally and won't pay for anything until she has the property in-hand.
"I see both sides of it," said Pelletier. "There's such good stuff out there and there's such good people out there. I know it."