SCAM ALERT: FAKE ACCOUNTS & SCAMMERS
$600,000
Free
Shipping
Buy now, pay later with . Learn More .
Size
Like and save for later
Add To Bundle
‼Buyers beware‼
In the past few months, I've noticed a rapid proliferation of fake/scam/bot accounts on Poshmark, many of which I randomly discover after seeing that they're a new "follower."
Usually, 1 major red flag is the random & straight-up gibberish computer-generated username -- not something any real user would choose.
If you see the account is brand new & is already "selling" some high-price luxury item, you can be CERTAIN they're trying to con you.
⛔DO NOT BUY & REPORT IMMEDIATELY
Shipping/Discount
nothanksmiller
and
39 others
like this
82 Comments
joannaong_
Wow! This is so helpful! Thank you so much!
a_tatou
@joannaong_ Glad you found it helpful! 👍 These scam accounts seem to be getting out of hand, since I've been stumbling on them almost daily now. Always good to be wary!
mylastwords65
Excellent!
sharboeker
Thank you for sharing!
a_tatou
@sharboeker 🙂👍
madisonschaible
@a_tatou How can they earn money though? Wouldn’t people just say their package didn’t come or there was something wrong with it?
a_tatou
@madisonschaible What they actually do is, once someone has "purchased" an item, they proceed to cancel the sale. They then attempt to redirect you off Poshmark to complete the transaction, claiming that they can "sell" it to you cheaper off the platform.
a_tatou
@madisonschaible Basically, if you fall for it by sending them the money without any buyer protection involved, there's no way Poshmark can help you, & your $$$ is as good as gone, while you'll never actually receive your "item." They get the cash, & you get nothing in return.
madisonschaible
@a_tatou Oh okay that makes sense
a_tatou
@alado313 Thank you! Glad you found this post helpful!
michaelblevi
I'm just annoyed they fill up my notifications with follows.
a_tatou
@michaelblevi I just be sure to block them from the get-go. & also to immediately report them if I see that they're trying to scam with fake listings. That's about all that can be done, though!
earthtoemily01
I’ve noticed over the past 3-4 days or so, I’ve had a TON of these types of profiles suddenly following me and sharing my listings. I don’t know what triggered it, but seemingly out of nowhere I’ve been getting flooded with them! Almost all my new followers and shares have been coming from these new and odd types of profiles, all recently created with 1 single listing and it’s almost always a bag (ranging in prices).
vintagevixennn
a_tatou I just had 12 different accounts share my items, I went to share back and every single account had the same pair of Nikes listed! How do they get way with it? Curious.
a_tatou
@revenge01 I would say that's super odd actually, given that from my own personal experience, these types of accounts seem to be essentially dormant -- when it comes to any activity of that kind. Like to the point that I'm not sure whether a real person is even behind them.
a_tatou
@revenge01 So I find it really odd if they're actually sharing others' listings & being active like that, when their ultimate goal is really just to scam & run. It's not something I've encountered. Perhaps it's because I block them as soon as I spot any suspicious-looking ones that follow me, but I know I must miss them here & there.
a_tatou
@revenge01 And if only going by all my screenshots, all those fake accounts have zero shares, even while having followers & following others. Which makes what you said even weirder 🤔
earthtoemily01
@a_tatou That’s what I thought too. At first I just brushed it off, but I couldn’t help but notice the overly abnormal amount of new shares and follows coming in, so I started to take a closer look. That’s when I realized there was a pattern, they where all newly created within the past week, they all had one single listing (mostly for a bag), they had a very bot like name format, etc.
earthtoemily01
@a_tatou I even found one a duplicate user photo, within about 2 hours of each other. They used the same girl in both account photos, but different names and sale item. That was really my confirmation that these were either bots or scam/spam. They do definitely share your listings now though, my guess it’s designed to make them look more legit, getting other sellers to share back. Half where follows, half where shares of my items.
earthtoemily01
@a_tatou the other popular single items I noticed where jewelry and watches. So everyone out there, keep your eyes peeled, I didn’t notice they where fake/scams at first either, it was only the absurd amount of new shares I suddenly got that tipped me off.
a_tatou
@revenge01 In that case, I'd assume it's a new tactic some of them are now adopting -- like you said, to make them look more legit & "real," & also to further promote the item(s) they're trying to "sell."
But a lotta these accounts definitely do steal "aesthetic-looking" pics, usually of attractive young women, it seems, to use as their own account profiles. I guess they think this automatically gives them more credibility, while also looking more appealing to buyers.
earthtoemily01
@a_tatou yup, a lot of them look like Instagram photos. If they where smart, they’d use pictures of random pets and families, Lolol 🤣
a_tatou
@revenge01 And I guess a big issue is that not enough people actually find these types of accounts suspicious enough to report, so it's a lot easier for them to keep flying under Poshmark's radar. While some interested buyers even go on to actually like their "items," without realizing it's all a total scam. Best to stay alert & cautious with anything that looks questionable online.
earthtoemily01
@a_tatou or they’re liking each others listings, I would say it seems as though they run them in massive groups, starting out with each others listings and then branching off to other sellers. I’m going to say I feel pretty confident that they’re bots, or at least human created initially and then run with automation/bots like closet assistant. That’s my bet!
a_tatou
@revenge01 Hah, ain't that the truth, tho! But don't be givin them any ideas, now! 😆
earthtoemily01
@a_tatou lol!
a_tatou
@revenge01 Yeah, any of that could be plausible at this point. I'd say they're bound to get even more devious as more people start catching onto their old tricks. So they're just gonna ramp up their efforts & try new ways of being slick.
416renata
I am trying to warn people but there is soooo many fake accounts added every day it's crazy!!!! see my posts
a_tatou
@vintagevixennn I can only guess that it might be a single bot/scammer who creates multiple accounts under different names, identities & profiles in order to better promote their "listing" & increase their chances of reeling someone in with their bait. Of course the pics they use are stolen from a legit account/seller. Best thing you can do is to block & keep reporting them!
camib1018
Ok, so I just started using posh again, bought a pair of Jordan’s yesterday.. haven’t received any kind of notification or response from the seller so I look into this and find about 20 other people with the same shoes at the same cost with different profiles. I did a google search for scams on posh and came across this post. What do I do at this point?
a_tatou
@camib1018 Are you able to cancel your order? If so, cancel ASAP. Because the last thing you want to be doing is getting further entangled with a scammer!
bbescobar10
Thank you! Good to know! Much appreciated!!👍🏽
justthewayuare
Hi, they also send something like a dollar store item out quickly after sale. It gets marked as delivered in Poshmark and they bank on people not realizing the item they received was from them. They are hoping people don’t catch on and miss the window to dispute it with Poshmark. I posted a couple warnings about fake Lego sets and since then I have been loaded with the scammers now following me.
One even commented in one of my listings that my listing was a scam.
a_tatou
@justthewayuare 😲 They even have the audacity to comment on & slander legitimate listings??? Wow, this is going too far. I will say, within the past 1-2 hours, I've had 12 different scam accounts follow me -- 12 IN A ROW. I check out 1 after the other -- all blatant scams, all with 2 listings, 1 of which is expensive, naturally. All created this month. 3 of these accounts are all selling large Lego sets for the same exact price: $288.
a_tatou
@justthewayuare I've screenshot & reported them all. At this crazy rate, I'll probably have to make another warning post, cuz these scammers have changed up their tactics somewhat. & it's just getting out of hand.
justthewayuare
@a_tatou Do you have any idea how the system creates followers? I think it is more than them just looking at one of our items that would make them a follower or no? Most of them don’t have any listings. I did notice that.
a_tatou
@erikarambert
a_tatou
@justthewayuare Yeah, I'm pretty sure Poshmark has a rotating list of Ambassador accounts that it regularly recommends to new users. Probably using features like the "Follow more people" & "Search for more people to follow" on the Feed screen, if you scroll down far enough. I'd guess Ambassador accounts probably get a lot of traffic that way.
justthewayuare
@a_tatou I was just wondering how all these scammers are now following me.
ghession
@a_tatou I've found that the fake accounts also list "various sizes" and "free shipping" in the case of expensive clothing items. So, that's a good way to tell that it's a fake account. As well as the weird titles of the item that are listed "Irregular high breasted jeans". Lol! Today I noticed they are listing fake handbags, Gucci, LV and others under high end jeans brands. It's so sad that you can no longer look for your favorite items without having to scroll past dozens of fake accounts!
a_tatou
@justthewayuare I think the real issue is that there are SO many of them now. Where like, every 4th or 5th account is a suspicious-looking one. They've just been actively proliferating on here, & I guess also actively following people.
dmallyx
Thanks for this! I have been reporting all these closets. Quick story as it happened to me and luckily I got refunded but the levels these scammers go to is intense!!
So I bought a Nanushka coat last week from one of these accounts (I’ve been poshing since 2014 and I ignored the flags because I’ve scored some great deals from new accounts and just took the gamble without checking to see if the photos were stolen).
dmallyx
After purchase I realized they were using stolen photos for the listing and they blocked me right away.
The “coat” shipped and luckily I know my USPS mail woman. She was able to check the tracking and she told me the package was delivered to another address in my zip code two miles away!! And that it was definitely not a coat as it was an envelope
dmallyx
So these accounts are photoshopping the label to make it look like the item was delivered!! I’ve been warning as many people as I can as there are hundreds of these accounts.
Posh seriously needs to employ someone to remove them.
dmallyx
@a_tatou they have actually been shipping empty boxes / random items!! So the tracking is showing delivered. But they are changing the label so it gets delivered to another house in your zip code.
Just happened to me last week and I spoke to my USPS woman about it.
charlynann
I've seen sooo many on Posh lately. I'm not sure what the solution is but it's making it really hard for legit sellers. Poshmark definitely needs to do more. I've been buying and selling for years but I'm thinking of trying somewhere else because of this.
autumn6280
I just had a sale and the username is something obscure and it says it’s inactive (3 mins) after purchasing. Am I obligated to sell/ship the item to them? The shipping label has a different username as well. Wondering if someone made a fake account to bail on payment? Any advice or experience with this?
bohochictrends
@autumn6280 Don’t ship!!! That’s a scam. Contact poshmark support.
autumn6280
@bohochictrends Poshmark support said it was bought on a guest account and that is typical…eekk…makes me so nervous. 😦
a_tatou
@autumn6280 I have had a couple sales kinda like that, where the person was like a guest or seemingly made their account just to buy one thing from me, or was overall inactive on here, save for that 1 purchase. Granted, the most expensive item purchased was like a $30 vintage silk blouse, so it didn't raise any alarm bells for me, & their payments went through just fine, although they didn't leave any reviews & have likely been inactive since then.
autumn6280
@a_tatou That is good to hear, thank you! Makes me feel much better about it :)
a_tatou
@autumn6280 Did they buy an expensive/luxury item? Or just something pretty standard?
a_tatou
@charlynann Yeah, I've had a LOT of really sus-looking accounts following me lately. The only real "solution" is to block them & report them multiple times. Especially to report any expensive items they may be "selling."
autumn6280
@a_tatou No, just a $40 pair of sneakers
a_tatou
@autumn6280 Sure thing 👍 I know a lot of people use nicknames or made-up names on their Poshmark accounts, while they can still put down their real name for the actual shipping address. Does this account have any other visible prior activity, like love notes they've left?
a_tatou
@ghession Yeah, I've come across a few *obviously* fake listings with the "various sizes" thing going on. Makes it even more ridiculous.
I think a few of em have gotten smarter by this point, though. Now they seem to be copying both the titles & full descriptions from the listings that they steal pics from. So it looks more "legit," but they often put the descriptions in quotes 😆
a_tatou
@ghession So far, I've seen them fake-listing luxury handbags under Zara & Steve Madden. But they're constantly coming up with new ways of being slick.
It is sad. A lotta people still fall for it. & what makes it worse is that they seem to keep proliferating freely. Poshmark doesn't even seem to be taking any active measures to prevent scam accounts from flourishing.
autumn6280
@a_tatou @a_tatou The name that bought it is inactive but the username on the shipping label has no activity that I can see unfortunatly. It does say it is a guest account, opened this month and no love notes yet.
charlynann
@autumn6280 wait before shipping like 24 hours especially on weekends. I've had a few high end items that fortunately I hadn't shipped yet come back with a message about "problem with payment". since then if it's at all questionable I wait to ship. I know that slows things down but better safe than sorry.
vivalina
Has anyone had a case where an account would buy one of your “free with purchase items”. Then you’d message them to let them know it’s only free with a purchase. Then it says the item got shipped, got received, got accepted and pending release of funds? (July 2022)
vivalina
I had three other buyers within the same week purchase a “free with purchase” item and I’d message them with no response. I end up just canceling the transaction because I’m not gonna send an item that’s only free with purchase. Does canceling transactions look bad on my account? (July 2022)
vivalina
A similarity among the buyers is the profile was new (within a couple days). But the names aren’t random letters. The first buyer who’s transaction said “package received”. Ended up “reposhing” my item. The item that never got sent out because it’s only free with purchase and I messaged the buyer that it can’t be sent out with purchase of another item. I think this is another way they’re trying to get access to our bank accounts. (July 2022)
a_tatou
@vivalina I would recommend that 1st & foremost, you set your "free with purchase" items to Not For Sale, if you haven't done so already. That way, no one will be able to buy them separately.
vivalina
@a_tatou would a buyer still be able to add it to a bundle?
a_tatou
@vivalina Secondly, did you actually receive any money from these accounts' "purchases"?
What I find very odd is that Poshmark actually marked unsent & undelivered items as "delivered" & "accepted". When their system always notifies about the slightest little shipping delay or issue on the seller's end. If no shipping label has been scanned to begin tracking, it's not possible for an item to have counted as "shipped". So I have no idea how that could've been overridden...
a_tatou
@vivalina I haven't tested it out, but I don't believe they'd be able to...
vivalina
@a_tatou No payments went through. It just says “pending”. I was confused about the delivered part too.
a_tatou
@vivalina How long has it been "pending" now?
I gotta say, that's pretty crazy if they somehow managed to dupe Poshmark's payment & shipping system. It doesn't make any logical sense...
vivalina
@a_tatou the first time it happened was June 30th. The second time it happened was July 6th, I canceled the order, reported it as spam, and blocked the person. This morning, I received a notification that order has been “delivered and and accepted by your buyer”.
shereesresale
Im suddenly getting a lot of people that I do not know signing up on poshmark using my sign up code. This is very strange. Is this happening to anyone else?
aussie46
YE! Im being targeted by at least one scammer who creates a new account on the hour then follows me. I probably BLOCK and BAN this person 20 or more times a day and the interesting part is that POSHMARK is doing absolutely NOTHING ABOUT IT. Iv sent them 2 emails about the problem and they have ignored everyone of them. Poshmark really needs to step up to the plate and VET new users properly. If they don't sellers will be leaving in droves.
a_tatou
@aussie46 Are you sure it's the same person/scammer repeatedly creating new accounts? I typically get some new scam accounts following me every few days, even after blocking & reporting previous ones. But I don't think they're all of the same origin...
aussie46
@a_tatou yep I see this troll creating a new account on the hour then they follow me. We’ve been banning them and reporting them on the hour and Poshmark does not care therefore it’s time to flood pm with reports until they get a friggon clue and do something about their totally useless signup procedure to curb this bs. If it continues I’ll go elsewhere to sell, there are plenty options.
aussie46
@charlynann thanks for heads up. My shipping stays is 2 day but from now on anyone who buys snd had nothing to show in their account t as far as stats will see the recommended delay. Far too many scammers here layely
jenrohmann
I’ve been getting spam likes and comments everyday it’s so annoying. I’m just reporting and blocking them! I hope no body gets scammed! Be careful y’all ♥️
macjc001
This crap is out of control
macjc001
This site is flooded with counterfeit items..These scammers are obviously using closet companion bots to cross list..in several names/closets..They have 1000’s of replica bags on this site daily, and they are always at the top of the search list in every handbag category.,Posh needs to do something about this immediately..
lavenderbay
Thank you!!
botablu
@shereesresale Hey there. Is that still happening to you? We’re getting 50 to 100 or more a day signing up using our code every few seconds to minutes—about 20 or so accounts at a time. We’ve reported this months ago… Posh did nothing. But it has now reach epic proportions where it’s filling up our entire email all day long. We’ve reached out to Posh repeatedly again this last week and still nothing except canned responses saying that they’re basically busy. Smh.
mooshatam
I just started posting and already I have a large number of followers, 1 in particular caught my eye, I was sent this message "nanamia149
nanamia149 Hi there, kindly send your username or this item link to my dad via 845-222-3743 so he can complete the payment on the app immediately thank you . I googled the entire message and it seems to be a scam.
I was hopeful to sell a few items on poshmark as I am a buyer too but this worries me. Anyone receive this message and what did you do?
yost4190
Never fails with some of these people, hate to see people fall victim for that. thank you for posting this.
catalanocloset1
So should I report users with usernames that are clearly fake? For example, something like @atugfjfe and no listings. If so, do I select “Spam” as the reason for reporting or do I select something else? And should I report them even if they haven’t tried to contact me or anything?
Trending Now
Find Similar Listings