Is This Listing a Scam? Free Scam Checker
Paste the title and description of any for-sale listing, add the price, and press Analyze. The checker looks for the warning signs that show up in marketplace scams, such as gift card or crypto payment requests, "must sell today" pressure, "selling for a friend" and prices far below normal, and gives the listing a score from 0 to 100. It's free, needs no account, and runs in your browser.
Have the listing link instead? Paste it into the Facebook Marketplace scam checker, which reads the listing for you and finds any serial number in it.
Updated October 7, 2026
How to use it
- Open the listing and copy its title and full description. If the seller sent details by message, paste those in too: the chat is often where the payment request shows up.
- Pick the platform and item type, and type the price and the number of photos. The item type sets the low-price line, so a $60 phone gets flagged and a $60 bike lock doesn't.
- Press Analyze for Scams. You'll see the score, the risk level and each signal it found, marked as info, warning or danger.
Tip: leaving "Number of Photos" blank counts as five photos. Type 0 or 1 if that's all the listing has.
What the scam checker looks for
| Words or details in the listing | Weight | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Gift cards, wire transfer, Western Union, crypto, bitcoin | Strong | These payments are hard or impossible to get back. |
| Zelle or Venmo with "friends and family" | Strong | No purchase protection on those payments. |
| "No paperwork", "off the books", "no cops" | Strong | A seller avoiding any record of the sale. |
| A price below the low-price line for the item type | Strong or medium | Priced to sell before anyone asks questions. |
| "Must sell today", "moving", "need gone ASAP" | Medium | Pressure so you skip the checks. |
| "Cash only" or "Cash App" | Medium | No way to dispute the payment later. |
| "No test", "as is", "no refunds" | Medium | You can't confirm it works before paying. |
| "Selling for a friend", "my ex's", "not the original owner" | Medium | The seller can't vouch for where it came from. |
| "Call only", "WhatsApp only", "Telegram", or an email address | Medium | Moves the conversation off the marketplace. |
| Meeting at a parking lot, gas station or Walmart | Medium | Suggests a police station lobby or lot instead. |
| Only one photo, or none | Medium or strong | You should see the actual item from several sides. |
| "No receipt", "no box", very short text, lots of capitals or exclamation marks | Minor | Not proof of anything, but worth a question. |
It also adds a note for Craigslist (no buyer protection), for Facebook listings that offer shipping, and for very cheap electronics on OfferUp.
What it can't tell you
- It reads words, not people. A scammer who writes a calm, detailed listing and asks for a gift card only in the chat will score low unless you paste the chat in.
- It can't look at photos, check whether they were copied from another listing, or see the seller's profile.
- Its price check is a simple low-price line per item type, not a market value for your exact model.
- It can't tell you whether the item is stolen. For that, check the serial number, IMEI or VIN on the verify page.
Questions people ask
How can I tell if a listing is a scam?
Look at how the seller wants to be paid and how fast they want it. Gift cards, wire transfers, crypto, or Zelle and Venmo friends-and-family payments before you've seen the item are the clearest signs. So are "must sell today" stories, a seller who wants to leave the app for WhatsApp or text, and a price far below similar items. SafeOrStolen's free scam checker (safeorstolen.com/scam-checker) flags these in the text you paste.
How does the SafeOrStolen scam checker work?
You paste the listing title and description and add the price, platform, item type and number of photos. A fixed set of rules then looks for payment, urgency, ownership and wording warning signs, compares the price with a low-price line for that kind of item, and adds points for each warning. You get a score from 0 to 100, a risk level and the list of signals it found.
Is the scam checker free?
Yes. It's free, has no limit, and you don't need an account. It runs in your browser, so the text you paste isn't sent to SafeOrStolen. Checking whether the item itself is reported stolen is separate: that uses the serial number, IMEI or VIN, and comes with 2 free checks on a free account.
What do the scam risk levels mean?
Low is a score of 0 to 15, Medium is 16 to 40, High is 41 to 70 and Critical is 71 to 100. Strong warnings, such as a gift card or crypto payment request or a seller who says "no paperwork", add 25 points each. Medium warnings like "cash only" or "selling for a friend" add 10. Minor ones, like a very short description, add 3.
Can the scam checker tell me if an item is stolen?
No. It reads the listing, not the item. Some of the same signs point to stolen goods, like "selling for my friend" or no receipt, but only the serial number, IMEI or VIN can tie an item to a theft report. Ask the seller for the number and check it on SafeOrStolen's verify page before you meet.
What should I do if I think a listing is a scam?
Stop replying and don't send money or codes sent to your phone. Report the listing from the marketplace's own report button. If you already paid, call your bank or card company the same day and ask about a dispute, then report it to the FTC and your local police. Keep screenshots of the listing and the whole chat.
Then check the item itself
A clean-looking listing can still be selling a stolen phone or bike. Ask for the serial number, IMEI or VIN and check it. SafeOrStolen searches its theft reports and public web results and lists every source it searched. The first 2 checks are free.