Spotting scams on Marktplaats: 6 tricks and what to do next

Trick 1: the one-cent payment request

A ‘buyer’ or ‘seller’ sends you a link to transfer one cent or to ‘verify your account’. The link looks like a payment request, a Marktplaats payment page or your bank’s site, but it is fake. If you enter your details, criminals can gain access to your bank account or your Marktplaats account.

Sellers get this trick too. The ‘buyer’ then claims to have paid already and says you can ‘release your money’ via a link. Receiving money never costs you anything and never requires you to log in to your bank.

Marktplaats advises keeping negotiation, payment and shipping within the platform. A genuine buyer never needs to ‘check’ whether you can receive money. If you get such a link: do not click it, and report the user.

• Marktplaats: preventing payment fraud (in Dutch)

Trick 2: ‘shall we continue on WhatsApp?’

Scammers want to move the conversation to WhatsApp, text messages or email quickly. Outside the platform, Marktplaats cannot check anything and you see fewer warnings. According to Marktplaats, the platform also never asks for your email address or phone number in a chat.

Is someone asking you to forward a code you received by text or WhatsApp? Never do it. With such a code, someone can take over your account.

According to the platform, emails from Marktplaats come from addresses ending in @marktplaats.nl, @email.marktplaats.nl or @mail.marktplaats.nl. If you are unsure about a message, log in yourself through the app or website instead of clicking a link.

• Marktplaats: recognising WhatsApp fraud (in Dutch)

Trick 3: paying upfront for something that never arrives

A popular product at a strikingly low price, and a seller who ‘can’t meet up right now’ and will only ship after payment upfront: that is the classic recipe. After payment, no parcel arrives and the seller stops responding.

For expensive items, arrange to see the product and only pay on the spot. If it has to be shipped, use Marktplaats’s own payment and shipping options, such as its buyer protection (Kopersbescherming). A payment partner then holds your money until you have received the parcel; report any problem within the period Marktplaats specifies. Read the current terms and costs first.

Unsure about a seller who will only ship? Ask for a short video call in which they show the product next to a note with your name and the date. Someone using stolen photos cannot do that.

• Consumentenbond on buyer protection (in Dutch)

Trick 4: the fake courier and the overpayment

You can be scammed when selling too. A ‘buyer’ says a courier will collect the item and sends a link where you can ‘receive your money’ or must pay shipping costs. Or they pay more than agreed and ask for the difference back, while the original payment turns out to be fake or is later reversed.

Always check in your own banking app whether the money has really arrived. A screenshot or an email ‘from the bank’ is not proof. Never hand over an item before the payment is visible in your own account.

Does a buyer insist on sending their own courier and paying ‘through the courier’? Then end the conversation and report the user.

Trick 5: a copy of your ID

Some scammers ask for a photo of your passport or ID card ‘just to be safe’. With it, they can open accounts in your name or scam others. Never simply send a copy. If it is genuinely needed, cover details that are not required, such as your photo and ID number, and write the purpose and date on the copy. In the Netherlands, the government’s KopieID app helps you do this.

Trick 6: time pressure and a price that is too good

‘Three other people are interested’ or ‘this price is today only’: applying pressure is part of many scams. That is exactly when to take your time. Check how long an account has existed, what ratings it has and whether the ad uses its own photos. Run a reverse image search on a strikingly cheap ad: if the same photo appears on other sites, be careful.

You can also enter the other party’s phone number, email address or account number in the Dutch police trader check. A match is a strong signal to walk away; no match is no guarantee.

If you are buying a bike, phone or laptop in the Netherlands, ask for the serial or frame number and check with Stop Heling, the Dutch police service, whether the item is registered as stolen. If you buy stolen goods, you can lose them again.

• Dutch police: check a trader (in Dutch)
• Stop Heling: check whether an item is stolen (in Dutch)

Scammed? Do this straight away

Did you enter bank details via a suspicious link or transfer money? Call your bank immediately, using the number on your bank card or in the app. The sooner you call, the better the chance that the bank can still stop something.

Then record everything: the ad, chat messages, proof of payment and the other party’s details. Report the user to Marktplaats and report the fraud to the police; in the Netherlands this can often be done online with DigiD. The Dutch Fraudehelpdesk also offers advice and registers reports.

Do not be embarrassed: scammers are skilled and target everyone. By reporting it, you help the police spot patterns and protect other buyers and sellers.

• Call your bank immediately
• Keep the ad, chats and proof of payment
• Report the user to Marktplaats
• Report it to the police
• Get advice from a fraud helpline

• Fraudehelpdesk Netherlands: reporting and advice (in Dutch)
• Avoiding online scams: warning signs and what you can do