What are the red flags of this scam?

You receive a text or iMessage asking if a Marketplace item 'is still available' but you never listed anything for sale • The message arrives through SMS or iMessage — not through Facebook's own Marketplace app messaging • If you look up the listing, it shows your name as the seller but uses a photo of a different person with the same name • The message creates an urge to correct the mistake ('that's not me') — that correction impulse is the scam's hook • You do not recognize the sender's number, and the item described in the listing is something you would never sell

What should I do if this happened to me?

Do not reply — any response, including a correction, confirms your phone number is active and reachable • Block the sender and report the message as spam to your carrier by forwarding it to 7726 (SPAM) • If you want to verify no one is misusing your name, open the Facebook app directly and check your own Marketplace listings — do not click any link in the message • If you already replied, watch for follow-up phishing texts, vishing calls, or fake package delivery messages over the next few weeks • Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.

MEDIUM phishing Last reported: Oct 9, 2026 Share

A text asks "is this still available?" about a Marketplace item you never listed — scammers used your name

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. Scammers post fake Facebook Marketplace listings using your name, then text you asking if the item is still available. Any reply — even to correct the mistake — confirms your number is live for resale or follow-up phishing attacks.

Scammers post fake Facebook Marketplace listings using your name, then text you asking if the item is still available. Any reply — even to correct the mistake — confirms your number is live for resale or follow-up phishing attacks.

Also known as: Facebook Marketplace name lure scam, fake Marketplace listing with your name, is this still available text scam, Facebook name-based phone confirmation scam, Marketplace reply trigger scam

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.

What to do right now

1 Do not reply — any response, including a correction, confirms your phone number is active and reachable
2 Block the sender and report the message as spam to your carrier by forwarding it to 7726 (SPAM)
3 If you want to verify no one is misusing your name, open the Facebook app directly and check your own Marketplace listings — do not click any link in the message
4 If you already replied, watch for follow-up phishing texts, vishing calls, or fake package delivery messages over the next few weeks
5 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.

Red flags

⚠ You receive a text or iMessage asking if a Marketplace item 'is still available' but you never listed anything for sale
⚠ The message arrives through SMS or iMessage — not through Facebook's own Marketplace app messaging
⚠ If you look up the listing, it shows your name as the seller but uses a photo of a different person with the same name
⚠ The message creates an urge to correct the mistake ('that's not me') — that correction impulse is the scam's hook
⚠ You do not recognize the sender's number, and the item described in the listing is something you would never sell

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Sources