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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 circumstances 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.
Related: Grab my FREE Poshmark Scam Prevention Checklist here!
Beware of Poshmark Scam When Selling: 5 Signs You Should Look For
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
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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.
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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.
Related: Poshmark Support: I received an email asking for sensitive information. Is it legitimate?
Sending Photos to Customers
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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.
Related: Grab my FREE Poshmark Scam Prevention Checklist here!
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:
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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:
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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.
Related: Poshmark Support: What is a phishing email?
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.
Related: Grab my FREE Poshmark Scam Prevention Checklist here!
4. Confirmation Code
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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
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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
Related: Grab my FREE Poshmark Scam Prevention Checklist here!
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.
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Thank you so much for this i was seriously about to get scammed. I got so excited to wake up to my first “purchase” until i got to the chat where they told me my bank account had to have a $450 deductible for me to get my money.
Before they had told me that they did ask for my card information, which was the only thing i had fallen for like a dummy but thank god i don’t even have that much money in my bank account and literally immediately that’s when i realized omg i like fricken like almost got scammed and just gave away my card info so i went to lock my card like right as this happened after i accidentally felt for giving my card info. i am requesting a whole new card, i don’t even want to mess with that. Crazy how real they make it look. Thank you again for this website lifesaver.
Aww, I am so happy that this helped you out and that you are getting a new card. My goal was to help someone out there so they won’t get scammed like I have. To see your kind words made my day today.
Omg im gonna cry 😭😭😭 I fell so hard on their scam, I was so excited and instantly put my card information I really don’t know what to do help, I am just a teenager who was excited to make some money 🙁
I completely understand. It is not a good feeling when this happens. Make sure you call your bank and let them know what happened so you can get your money back. They will provide you with a new card and take care of the rest. Hang in there!
Thank you for this article! I have sold on Poshmark in the past, without issue. I just listed some luxury bags which are too nice to give to Goodwill. Almost immediately, I received replies from 2 people who each wanted a different bag. They said they tried to buy the bags on the site, but Poshmark has a new authentication process. The seller is supposed to buy an AmEx card for $200-500, photograph the front and back of card, and the receipt and activation receipt and email to the company. They they will unfreeze your account and activate it. These ladies were so interested, they supplied their phone numbers for texting. Both asked for more pics and videos, which I did.
The next day, I went to a store and bought a $200 AmEx card, sent it to the email address I was given. They sent back they needed $300 more, so I did it again. Now, one email address wants $300 more and one wants $999 more. I told both the ladies, we are hitting the brakes on this deal. I will only correspond with them on the Poshmark site, so there is a record of it.
The 2 places I have emailed keep contacting me asking me for more money, but no one can give me an explanation. I was told by one of my potential buyers, this AmEx system was safer than letting someone in your bank account…Agreed…but I still think I may have lost $500 in buying the 2 cards and giving them the info, Is there any way to know?
Is there a safer site? The new one, Rebag, is advertising a lot. Have you heard anything negative about them? I need to sell these luxury items to fund retirement, It would be a shame to get screwed out of more money.
Hi Marcy, I am so sorry unfortunately I am not sure if there is a way to find out about that. I personally haven’t used or heard much about ReBag but from what I can see they may be a good site for you. I would still keep an eye out for potential scams by using the tips above. There are also other sites that are target to buying luxury handbags like luxedujour.ca or selling your luxury handbags like therealreal.com/ or http://www.fashionphile.com/. I hope that helps.
Hi Shanice,
Here is an update:
I went to my local grocery store to have the Customer Service guy check both AmEx cards to see if the balances were gone. They were gone. But, he said I should call the 800 number on the back and see if they can possibly help retrieve the money. They actually agreed, asked me LOTs of info and assigned me a case number. They said it’s not a sure thing, but they might be able to recover my money. It can take up to 45 days. Fingers crossed! I just want all your readers to know about this scam, so they are not taken advantage of!
Thank you so much for the update. Fingers crossed that everything works out. I appreciate you sharing this with me and my readers!
Thank you so much for posting this!! I totally fell for it until I clicked the link and it asked me for a credit card, I immediately typed into google “poshmark scams” and yours was one of the first values that popped up! It was verbatim what you have on this page!!! Had I gotten no results I probably would have shrugged and put in my card info. :*( I’m so thankful to you right now I wish I could give you a great big hug!!!! I’m currently making them crap their pants, lol, because when they asked me to let them know when I receive the money, I went back and said I did, but there must be a glitch like they said because it has deposited their payment into my account over 600 times!! XD Baaahahaha, they immediately responded and asked me for a screenshot. Time to go radio silent.
Ann! It is comments like this that make my day. I am so happy to hear that you did not get scammed and that you found my site before it happened. I am sending you a big hug!
I think I almost got scammed. It was going to be my first sale, so discouraging! They said they could see my pictures very well and ask me to send them to their email. I did, then they said they send an email that they paid and it might be spam folder. So I looked on Posh site and no activity.
So I emailed them back and said I would not give infor on a email they would have to go through posh.
Hi Nettie, you defiantly almost got scammed. I am happy that you did not give anymore information and make it clear to go through the Poshmark site. I appreciate you taking the time to share this with me and my audience. As discouraging as that felt, know you will be able to sell that item to a real person who actually wants your item. It may take time but you go this!
Same thing almost happened to me. O didn’t click the confirm button in the email only bc I listed the item really hesitant to sell it so I practically retail priced it and was shocked when someone bought it. Thank God I didn’t really wanna sell it so I emailed back saying im new and have a full time job I can’t commit much ti e to this and im sorry it may take a few days. Then same day I get the same exact request, ver batum, on a different item. That’s when my instints kicked it and read this. So thank you for the info! I did send pics but as long as I didn’t hit the confirm button I’m good rignt???
Hi Tamer, I am happy you went with your instincts and did not confirm the button. As long as you didn’t provide any card information you should be good.
Well, I wish I read this article before it happened to me! I’m so mortified and angry that these people probably will never get caught! As a single parent, I was just trying to make extra cash and instead they made off with what little I had in my bank! The struggle is real, but I truly believe in karma! Lesson learned for sure, but I definitely will share this to prevent it from happening to new users.
Hi Jessica, I am so sorry this happened to you. I felt the same way when this happened to me, you are not alone. It is such a horrible scam and I truly wish they would get caught some day too. I appreciate you sharing this with other so they don’t have this happened to them.
This almost just happened to me too! I’m so glad you wrote this article. I should have known something was up when they told me I had to have 150.00 on my card. I stopped it after seeing your article. I was trying to do a search to find out why they would be asking for money if I’m trying to sell something! Again Thank you!!
Hi Cynthia, I am so glad that you were able to see this article in time. Thank you for stopping by and commenting, I appreciate hearing that this article has helped you out. Wishing you all the best for finding a real customer for your item.
I wish I’d read this before I opened that email this morning. Thanks for sharing your story as this is exactly what just happened to me. I feel like such a dope.
Hi Betsy, I am so sorry this happened to you and I completely understand. You are not alone, I felt the same way when this happened to me. Make sure you let your bank know as soon as possible and don’t give up there is a real person out there who wants to buy your item.
Thank you for this! I knew something was fishy, I just needed the confirmation. So glad I trusted my gut.
You are so welcome Sami! I am happy this could help you out!
You saved my life! I had just posted a couple of shoes and tops on posh and immediately got two different people asking if I could send them photos to their email and I thought it was suspicious so I looked it up. Eventually found this!
That’s amazing you found this just in time, Ellie! I am so glad that you took a moment to look this up before continuing on. You truly dodged a bullet!
I had someone comment on a listing of mine asking me to text photos of the ad to their son to make sure my listing is real. They left their phone number in the comment using emoji numbers – to me this looks fishy but wanted to get your take on it!
Hi Julia, thank you so much for commenting. This defiantly feels fishy to me as well. These days we do not give out our numbers especially in the comments of a listing. So to be safe, I would not text this person because then this person will now have your number. I wish you all the best in finding that right person who will love your item!
Yep, just happened to me but being a newbie I had no idea. I was so excited about the quick first sale. Thing is I was a little suspect when I saw buyer was a “guest”. Ugh, now more work contacting the financial institutes.
I completely know the feeling Lisa. It is the excitement of it all that they use to get us but know you are not alone we have all been there. You will find that right person who will love your item!
Thank you for this article! I should have read this article before making an account, I almost got scammed but my card declined the payment 3 times thank goodness. How about text messages I made an account last night and I seriously was so frustrated and every one kept saying to me that it’s a scam that’s a scam. So I just deleted my account. Also are you supposed to put a deposit on the site to activate the account ?
Hi Herminio, thank you so much for your comment. I completely understand why you would delete your account after almost getting scammed. It can be such a frustrating experience to go through. As for your question, you are not supposed to put a deposit on the site to activate the account. Poshmark is free to use therefore there is no payment required to activate it.
Thank you for this article!! I have sold stuff on poshmark before without any trouble but today someone commented on one of my items saying they can’t see the pictures and asking me to email them! I immediately felt like something was off and your website confirmed it. So glad I trusted my gut!
Aww, you are so welcome, Demi! I am so happy that you trusted your gut and that my website was able to help confirm that feeling. I love that you mentioned that you sold without any trouble before because reading comments like yours, gives us newbies sellers hope that it is possible to get real customers interested to in the items that we are selling.
Thank you…so very helpful information.
I am leary of a closet that has only a “Meet your Posher” photo listed. During the night I received messages within about 1 hour of each other about a print in a frame I posted. The weight for the item with packaging would be over 10 lbs which I have read not to post items like that on PM (still learning). It dawned on me with shipping weight…boxes, extra padding, etc. I fiqured it would be over that 10 lb. limit. So I was thinking about taking it off Poshmark.
The first messager “liked” the item then “added to their bundle”. Shortly after, messaged me wanting to “take it off my hands” & me pay the shipping. Then, commuicate by text to a number with a New York area code BEFORE paying on Poshmark (the message was all in quotes). Then about an hour later, a different “Meet your Posher” “liked” the item. The item is now listed as “Not For Sale”. I did comment on the ‘Bundles’ page about the issue with the item’s weight.
Neither one of these “sellers” had any items posted. The first has initials as the banner and the second has a photo of a child.
Is that a real red flag when a seller has no listings just a “Meet your Posher” photo?
Thank you!
Hi Crat, it does seem a little odd to need to text before paying on Poshmark. I would not recommend selling your item to person as they are the ones requesting you to text before paying and the way the message was written out to me feels like a red flag. Now I wouldn’t say that all sellers with no listing and just a “Meet your Posher” photo is a red flag because in some cases they may be still be figuring out how to start selling on Poshmark or may have changed their mind to selling on Poshmark entirely (like I have). However the photo of a child does seem like a red flag to me because placing a photo of a child on a network/website that is not for family or friends is extremely personal and private for a platform that is intended for selling or buying. I hope this advice helps.
Ok so I have been buying shoes on poshmark for awhile now and the last pair I bought I didn’t realize I bought the wrong size so I decided to reposh them. This is my first time selling anything anywhere so I’m totally new at all this. Anyways I got 2 comments on my listing with them saying the pictures won’t show so can you send them to my email and put their email in the comment section and someone else saying I love the shoes but can you email me and send the name of the actual listing! So im thinking how do you love them if you dont know what the name of the listing is??!!!! And also I know the pictures are viewable I checked through another account to make sure I did it right. So I thought something was wrong and started to Google search scammers on poshmark and came across this page and I am so grateful I did. I wanted to share my experience and thank you so much for putting your stories out there to help everyone with scammers!!! It totally helped me for sure!!
Oh my goodness, your comment brightened up my day Tracy! I am so happy to hear my story was able to protect you from this Poshmark scam. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I wish you all the best with selling, I know there is someone out there who truly wants these shoes of yours.
I think i got scammed I listed items for sale and 2 ladies kept asking for text photos because iot was not clear so then I get a txt message from hat looks like posh rep and they started to say item is on hold because I need to secure and make a deposit and that I would get 750.00 in return after my first sale so I got a 500.00 apple card and they asked for me to send it , I hesitated for sometime but never did i think this was going to happen I have all text from the apparent posh rep I called Posh in Redwood city and left a message I still do not see my credit of 500.00 liek they said I would on the redeemable section of my app, I think the buyer was in on this too I will find out tomorrow hope Posh answwers the phone to clear this up
Hi Maria, thank you for sharing your experience. I am so sorry that this has happened to you. From reading your comment it sounds like you were scammed. The red flag I noticed is the asking for a deposit. You do not need to make an deposit or send an Apple card to Poshmark in order to sell something. Also, another red flag is being texted by a Poshmark rep. It sounds like someone is pretending to be one. Typically, employees of a business would never text you as every conversation would be through their official website or through the contact page of their website. My recommendation would be to contact Poshmark through their official website to let them know what has happen, they may have some advice to assist you. I hope that this is able to help you out in this situation as I know this can be so frustrating.
Awesome post.
Thank you so much!
Thanks for sharing your story. I was about to get scammed but phewww read your post first!
Hi Egle, I am so happy that my story was able to help you avoid getting scammed. I appreciate your comment!
Thank you so much for posting this article. I just listed my first 6 items on Posh. Almost instantly I started receiving messages that they had trouble viewing my photos and could I send to their email. I was so busy listing that I thought I’d get to that later. By the time I finished listing I had so many of the same type messages, my intuition told me there was a red flag!!! Your article is s life saver!!!!
Thank you for the comment Sharon! I love that you were able to see notice that ahead of time and not get trapped in their scam. I hope you find great buyers who will appreciate your items!