By Khadeeja Safdar
Facebook Inc. created an online flea market where users not only
see all the bicycles, bird houses and BMWs for sale nearby, but
also the names, profile photos and general locations of buyers and
sellers.
It is so popular that more than one in three people in the U.S.
use it monthly, according to Facebook. Because Facebook started as
a platform for people who knew each other, its Marketplace -- at
least in theory -- operates on the notion that on the other side of
every online deal is a real person with a network of friends and a
social-media history.
But the experiences of many people who use the marketplace
suggest that creates a false sense of security and a fertile ground
for scams or misconduct -- on both ends of transactions.
Some buyers say Facebook sellers change prices on items, list
stolen or fake products, or are scammers operating under multiple
profiles. Sellers say they are sometimes dealing with unreasonable
offers, fraudulent payments or no-shows at scheduled meetups.
Bad actors sometimes disappear after blocking the victim -- a
feature that prevents someone from seeing a profile. Facebook
Marketplace also allows buyers and sellers to put their reviews on
private mode, which many people say defeats the purpose of creating
a community of reviewers and building trust.
Sgt. Robert Parsons of the Dunwoody, Ga., police department said
a Facebook Marketplace sale in his town ended up as a robbery at
gunpoint. Such incidents have prompted Dunwoody and police
departments across the U.S. to open up their offices as a safe
meeting place for people making Facebook transactions.
"Criminals have turned it into a place where they can get access
to victims," Sgt. Parsons said. "Just because someone has a
Facebook profile doesn't mean that's who you are talking to."
On help forums, Facebook advises users who say they have been
the victims of crimes to call law enforcement or report an
offending profile to Facebook. Facebook also said users can assess
from someone's profile how long they've used the site and whether
there are any mutual friends.
"We are constantly working to make Marketplace as safe and
reliable a place to buy and sell as possible," said a Facebook
spokeswoman. "Ultimately these are transactions between real people
and, while we have robust measures and advice in place to try to
keep people safe, no system is perfect."
Deborah Liu, Facebook's vice president of marketplace and
commerce, said she spearheaded the launch of the marketplace three
years ago to encourage the bartering behavior that was taking place
in informal Facebook user groups.
Like Craigslist, the social-media giant doesn't exercise control
over payment, delivery or pricing. It also doesn't charge users.
Facebook makes money by selling ads, which appear between product
listings.
Unlike Facebook groups, which can boot a member for violating
rules, Marketplace offers no such control to users, though Facebook
itself can revoke a users' buying or selling privileges after a
review, according to Ms. Liu. Though she said that a team of
reviewers scrutinizing flagged profiles need to ensure they aren't
booting people unfairly. "We actually have to do some due diligence
and understand what happened."
Lindsey Sterling, a 30-year-old nurse in Toronto, said she often
sells makeup on the marketplace because it is so easy to use, but
the lack of oversight is problematic. Earlier this year, she
purchased a Kylie Jenner lip kit from a woman in Toronto and
transferred $30. "The profile looked legit," she said.
The person continued promising it was on its way, but the
package never arrived, she said. She and her friends have been
scammed so many times that they joined a Facebook group called
"Facebook Marketplace Scammer Alert," she said. The purpose of the
group is for members to warn each other about bad actors,
particularly those who have set up multiple profiles. It has over
2,000 members.
The number of users on Facebook makes it easy for sellers and
buyers to find each other and chat capabilities make in-person
meetups seamless. Brian Nowak, a Morgan Stanley analyst, told
Facebook executives on a February conference call that he used the
marketplace to unload a 50-pound steel anchor in the yard of a
house he had purchased.
"It sold in a day," he said on the call. Then he listed old
shoes, which also went quickly. "There's a lot of liquidity," he
said.
The marketplace's initial rollout in 2016 resulted in Facebook
issuing an apology for allowing guns, drugs and wildlife to be
listed for sale. The company blamed the posts on a technical issue
with its system for identifying posts that violated its
policies.
Facebook Marketplace still allows sellers to list items that
wouldn't normally be allowed on other retail platforms, such as
leftover tacos, worn dentures and used makeup. "You can sell
anything on this thing," Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl
Sandberg said in response to Mr. Nowak.
Ms. Liu said the company uses machine learning to detect and
block products that violate its policies. Users can appeal the
decision or report a product if Facebook mistakenly blocks the
wrong item or misses something.
Facebook doesn't police products that don't violate its
policies, she said, but over time algorithms show listings that
match a person's browsing preferences. "We are not in the business
of telling people what they can buy and sell," she said.
Frank McKenna, chief fraud strategist at PointPredictive, which
makes software to detect loan and transaction fraud, said the
current lack of oversight on Facebook Marketplace makes it ripe for
payment fraud. People are paying with fraudulent Venmo accounts,
fake bills and bad checks, he said.
"It is a scammer's haven," Mr. McKenna said. "They love it
because they can create a fake profile and it legitimizes
them."
Facebook said it has some restrictions in place for sellers to
dissuade scammers. Its current requirements for sellers say that
they can't be new to Facebook and must be over 18.
At the end of last year, Facebook estimated duplicate accounts
represented approximately 11% of the site's 2.23 billion monthly
active users, while false accounts made up 5%, totaling over 100
million profiles.
Facebook said it removes fake accounts regularly and is working
on a new system that will make reviews more transparent. The
company recently announced that people will soon be able to pay for
their purchases directly on Facebook. Ms. Liu said buyers can still
contact Facebook through its help page if a scammer blocks a victim
to escape scrutiny.
Sharing personal information can sometimes pose a security risk.
Mr. McKenna said his wife feared for her safety when a woman turned
hostile after picking up a handbag from their house, he said.
"Instead of selling a $100 item, you are now worried about your
whole property."
News reports abound of transactions gone wrong. In July alone,
several people reported robberies and other incidents that started
with Facebook Marketplace interactions. In Shreveport, La., a
victim told the police a buyer pulled a gun and took off with the
item. In Racine, Wis., a woman said a buyer pepper sprayed her and
ran off with her two iPhones without paying. In Memphis, a man was
shot during what was supposed to be a routine sale.
Stone Pannell, a 25-year-old in Memphis, said his road bike was
stolen last month from his porch and soon after appeared on
Facebook Marketplace. He found it listed for $850.
He called the police, but said he was told the officers couldn't
help unless the bike was brought to a pawnshop, which would trigger
an alert for a stolen item if the serial number matched with
his.
Mr. Pannell set out to get the bike back on his own. He told the
seller he had reported him to the police but wouldn't press charges
if the bike was returned to him. The seller agreed to leave the
bike at a location for him to pick up.
Despite getting his bike back, Mr. Pannell said he was taken
aback by the lack of accountability. "If the guy knew everything I
knew," he said, "then he would have just said 'whatever' and
blocked me."
Write to Khadeeja Safdar at khadeeja.safdar@wsj.com
Read more of The Wall Street Journal's coverage of the
burgeoning market for secondhand goods.
The Rise of Hand-Me-Down Inc.
Vintage is becoming big business as The RealReal and other
upstarts feast on the emerging appeal of secondhand clothes, shoes
and accessories
Meet the Depop Generation
Young entrepreneurs are going online to sell clothes for profit,
capitalizing on Gen Z's love of vintage gear. They've got an eye
for what will sell, and know where to find it.
On Second Thought, Traditional Retailers Make Room for Used
Clothes
Venerable names like Macy's and J.C. Penney are embracing the
sale of secondhand goods in a push to jump-start sales and lure
younger, environmentally conscious shoppers.
The Closet Chronicles: How I Buy and Sell $1,000 of Clothes a
Month
Grailed, a marketplace for men's clothing, has radically changed
how our reporter thinks of his wardrobe.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 16, 2019 06:45 ET (10:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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