Buyers on OfferUp get hit when someone poses as the seller, OfferUp Support, or a “payment specialist.” The pitch moves you off the app: pay by wire, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, crypto, or gift cards to “confirm the order,” “release a hold,” or “upgrade shipping.” Real sellers get paid through OfferUp’s supported tools or cash at a public meetup. Off-platform payment usually means no buyer protection.
Meetup and shipping cousins: Fake OfferUp meetup scams and Fake OfferUp shipping scams. Seller-side overpayment theater: Fake OfferUp buyer overpayment scams. eBay parallel: Fake eBay seller impersonation scams. Landscape: Credit and debt scams.
How the impersonation play works
| What you see | What is actually happening |
|---|---|
| Text or email: “Seller can’t receive OfferUp pay—send Zelle / wire instead” | Scammer, not the seller; OfferUp will not ask you to abandon in-app checkout |
| Spoofed “offerup.com” lookalike domain or “seller@gmail” invoice | Phishing or social-engineering (Phishing and account takeover) |
| “Pay with Apple / Google Play / Steam cards to unlock shipping” | Irreversible gift-card drain |
| “Partial refund if you pay the rest outside OfferUp to skip fees” | You lose purchase protection; money is gone |
| Caller claiming to be the seller’s “assistant” with a new payment link | Voice spoof; payment truth lives in your OfferUp purchase or chat history |
Hard rules
- Pay only through OfferUp’s supported checkout for remote buys, or cash at a public meetup for local deals. No wire, P2P, crypto, or gift cards to “complete” an OfferUp buy (Zelle and P2P scams).
- Type offerup.com yourself or open the official app. Do not use emailed “pay now” links.
- Seller identity in the listing and in-app chat beats a freemail “invoice.”
- OfferUp will not demand gift cards or crypto to release a package.
Worked example: the $890 “seller can’t take OfferUp pay” wire
Casey wins a laptop Buy It Now–style listing for $890. Minutes later a Gmail message claims to be the seller: OfferUp payments are “down,” so Casey should wire $890 to a personal name at Wells Fargo and attach the OfferUp item number. A second SMS offers a $40 “fee refund” via gift card if Casey pays today.
Casey almost wires from Bank of America. Instead Casey opens OfferUp on a typed URL, checks Messages and Order details, and sees no such request from the real seller. Casey ignores the freemail, reports the phishing, and completes payment only inside OfferUp if still buying—or cancels if the listing smells wrong.
If Casey had wired, the laptop would not arrive, OfferUp buyer protection would not cover an off-platform send, and the wire would be effectively gone.
If you already paid off-platform
- Contact your bank or card issuer’s fraud line the same day; ask about recall or dispute options (wires and gift cards are often hard to reverse).
- Report inside OfferUp and at ReportFraud.ftc.gov; save emails, headers, and receipts.
- Do not send a second “release” or “customs” payment.
- If you shared passwords or codes, change them and review phishing and account takeover steps; consider a credit freeze if identity data moved.
Checklist
- Payment truth lives in OfferUp order/chat details—not freemail invoices or SMS.
- No gift cards, wires, crypto, or P2P to “finish” an OfferUp purchase.
- Type offerup.com yourself; ignore lookalike domains.
- Verify seller contact only through OfferUp Messages tied to the listing.
- Report impersonation attempts even when you did not pay.
Educational only. Not legal, banking, or platform-policy advice. OfferUp payment tools and buyer-protection windows change; confirm current Help pages before you pay or dispute.