Scams & Fraud

Selling Online? Spot Overpayment and Fake Payment Scams

By Rowan Pryce / November 11, 2026

Quick answer: If you are selling something online, the only payment that counts is money that has actually landed and cleared in your own account, which you check yourself by opening your bank or payment app directly. A screenshot, an email, a “payment pending” message or a check that shows up in your balance does not count. Never send money back, never pay a fee to receive a sale, and for local sales, meet in a public place and take cash or use the platform’s own tools.

Key takeaways

A buyer who “accidentally” pays too much and asks for the difference back is following a well-known pattern, and the FTC says a check for more than your asking price is a red flag.
A deposit that appears in your balance is not proof the check is good. Fake checks can take weeks to be discovered, and you can end up owing the bank.
Payment confirmations can be faked. Confirm inside your own account, not through a link, email or screenshot someone sent you.
A real sale never requires you to pay anything to receive your money.
If something goes wrong, contact your bank or payment provider first and quickly, then report it.

Why sellers are a target

Most of us picture scams as something that happens to buyers. Sellers get hit too, and the pattern is simple: the scammer wants your item, your money, or both, before the payment is real. The pressure is usually friendly. They are traveling, in a hurry, or “just want to lock it in.” Marketplaces and classifieds make it easy because you often start with a stranger and a quick message.

Here is the good news. These scams lean on a small number of moves, and all of them have the same weak point: they need you to act before your funds are confirmed. If you decide ahead of time that nothing ships and nothing is refunded until money is in your account, most of them stop working.

The common patterns

Overpayment and refund requests

A “buyer” sends more than the price, often by check, and asks you to return the extra. The FTC’s seller advice gives a worked example: on a $200 item, you deposit a $500 check, send back $300, and ship the item. Weeks later the bank discovers the check was fake and takes the $500 back, so you lost $300 and the item. The FTC’s page on fake checks explains why this works: banks must make deposited funds available quickly, and fake checks can look real even to bank staff. Seeing the money in your account does not mean the check is good. In a February 2025 alert about car sellers, the FTC described the same setup with a distant buyer who says they cannot inspect the car in person.

The payment-app version is a “mistaken” payment from a stranger who asks you to send it back as a new payment. Venmo’s help page says not to return money to a stranger who says they sent it by mistake, and to contact Venmo Support so they can help reverse it. The risk is easy to see: if the original payment is later disputed or turns out to be funded by a stolen card or bank account, the money can be pulled from your account, and you will have sent your own money away as well.

Fake payment confirmations and screenshots

A buyer sends an image or email that looks like proof of payment. The FTC notes that scammers may insist on a mobile payment app and send a fake payment notification, hoping you will ship the item before noticing the money never arrived. Venmo’s list of common scams includes screenshots of emails that appear to confirm a payment that never happened. The safe habit is dull but reliable: open the app or your bank yourself, do not tap links in the message, and only trust what appears there. Venmo also suggests checking that official emails come from an address ending in the company’s real domain.

“Pay to get paid” tricks

This is any version where the buyer says your money is waiting, but something must happen first: you pay a fee, buy an “upgrade,” cover some cost, or ship before the funds are “released.” Venmo’s page says a claim that funds stay pending until you ship and upload tracking does not match any feature it offers. Craigslist also warns about “guaranteed” transactions and payment processing services, and says requests for an escrow service may be a scam. The CFPB adds that scammers often ask for wire transfers, gift cards, payment apps or cryptocurrency because those payments are hard to trace or recover. If a sale needs you to pay first, it is not a sale.

Fake shipping, couriers and verification codes

Some scammers arrange the shipping for you, send a “courier” or a mover, or offer a third-party service. Craigslist’s guidance is to be wary of shipping or mover offers and to deal locally with people you can meet. Another pattern is a buyer who sends fake shipping information or screenshots to make it look like an item shipped, a problem Venmo lists for sellers. The FTC also flags a request that sounds harmless: a “buyer” asking for a verification code sent to your phone to prove you are real. Craigslist says any request for a code is a scam, and the FTC says sharing it can let scammers create accounts linked to your number. No genuine buyer needs your code.

Reversals, holds and stolen payment methods

Not every loss is a lie about payment. Venmo’s page notes that a buyer can pay with stolen credit card or bank details, and if the rightful owner disputes the charge, the money can be taken out of your account. Plain version: a payment showing as received is not necessarily final, so for higher-value items give yourself extra time, and read your provider’s seller rules, because protection programs and holds have conditions that differ by company.

Red flags at a glance

What the buyer does	Why it is a warning sign	Safer move
Pays more than the price and wants the difference returned	The check or payment can fail later; you lose the refund and the item	Decline; ask for the exact price through a method you can verify
Sends a screenshot or email as proof of payment	Both are easy to fake	Log in to your account yourself and look
Says funds release after you ship or pay a fee	Venmo, for one, says it has no such feature	Stop and end the conversation
Insists on a courier, mover or outside escrow	Adds a fake third party with fake credibility	Use the platform’s own checkout, or meet locally
Asks for a code sent to your phone	It can be used to set up accounts linked to your number	Never share any code
Cannot meet and rushes you	Urgency prevents you from checking	Slow down; a real buyer can wait
Wants to move the chat outside the platform	Removes the platform’s tools and records	Keep messages and payment inside

What is actually safe

Craigslist describes dealing locally and meeting face to face as the single rule that prevents most scam attempts, and says not to pay or accept payment before meeting in person. The FTC’s seller advice agrees: sell locally to someone you can meet and accept only cash, and if you sell to someone far away, look at what seller protections the site offers. Meet in a public place and use the platform’s own messaging. For an expensive item sold remotely, the FTC says an escrow service or an online payment service may be worth considering for a car sale, though Craigslist warns that escrow requests can be scams, so pick the service yourself rather than accepting a link from the buyer.

For payments, the rule is simple. Wait for the funds to appear in your own account, through the app or bank you opened yourself. If you receive a check, do not treat a posted deposit as the end of the story. Ask your bank how long it takes for a deposited check to be fully verified, and never send money from a deposit.

If you were hit

Stop talking to the scammer and send nothing more.
Contact your bank or payment provider right away. The FTC’s “What To Do if You Were Scammed” page lists steps by payment type: for a payment app, report it and ask for a reversal; for a bank transfer, tell your bank; for a wire, call the wire company; for a gift card, call the issuer.
Report it on the marketplace or platform where you listed the item.
File a report with the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC says reports help it build cases and spot trends.
Consider also reporting to your local police or sheriff, your state attorney general and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, as the CFPB lists. If a scammer used your Social Security number or other personal details, the FTC points to IdentityTheft.gov.
Save messages, screenshots and receipts, which help with all of the above.

Recovery is not guaranteed, and speed matters, so do not wait to see if it resolves itself.

Seller safety checklist

Decide in advance: no shipping and no refunds until money is in my own account.
Check payments by opening the app or bank yourself, never through a message.
Do not accept checks for more than the price, and do not deposit and send money onward.
Never pay fees, upgrades or insurance to receive a sale.
Do not share verification codes with anyone.
Meet in a public place for local sales, and prefer cash.
Keep the conversation and payment on the platform.
Save screenshots, listings and receipts.

Frequently asked questions

The buyer overpaid by mistake. Can I just send the difference back?

Not before the original payment is confirmed in your own account, and ideally not at all. Venmo’s guidance for a stranger’s mistaken payment is to contact support rather than return the money yourself.

The money shows in my bank balance. Is it safe now?

Not necessarily. The FTC says a deposited fake check can appear in your balance and take weeks to be caught, and the bank can then take the money back.

Is a screenshot good enough to ship an item?

No. Venmo lists screenshots of fake payment emails as a seller scam. Check your account directly.

Who should I report to first?

Start with your bank or payment provider, since speed matters for any reversal. Then report to the platform and the FTC, and to police or your state attorney general if you lost money.

Before you decide

You do not need to be paranoid to sell online. You need one rule you do not bend: no confirmed funds, no shipment. Keep that rule, keep the conversation on the platform, and meet locally when you can. If a buyer gets annoyed that you are careful, that tells you what you needed to know.