Facebook Marketplace has become a popular platform for buying and selling items locally. When arranging a transaction on Facebook Marketplace, buyers and sellers often need to communicate outside of Facebook’s messaging system to coordinate meeting times and locations. This frequently involves exchanging phone numbers. However, some users are hesitant to hand out their personal contact information to strangers on the internet. So, is it actually safe to give your phone number to someone on Facebook Marketplace?
The Risks of Sharing Your Phone Number
There are some potential risks that come with giving your phone number to a Facebook Marketplace user you don’t know:
They could share your number without your consent
Once someone has your phone number, there is a chance they could pass it along to other people or post it publicly without your permission. This could lead to you getting unwanted calls, texts, or voicemails from people you don’t know.
They could try to scam you
Scammers often target Facebook Marketplace users by expressing interest in an item, asking for the seller’s phone number, and then trying various tactics to get money out of them. For example, they may claim the item is needed urgently for a sick family member and offer to send a courier to pick up the item immediately after paying through an online money transfer. But the payment never materializes and the courier doesn’t exist.
They could stalk or harass you
In rare cases, providing your phone number to a Marketplace user could enable them to track you down and stalk or harass you by calling, texting, or using your number to find other personal details online. This is especially risky when meeting up with a stranger from Marketplace alone.
Tips for Sharing Your Number Safely
If you do need to give your phone number to finalize a Marketplace transaction, there are some precautions you can take to share it more safely:
Use a secondary number
Rather than your primary personal number, use a secondary number like a Google Voice or burner phone number that forwards to your real number. This adds a layer of separation.
Meet in a public place
When meeting up to exchange items, pick a safe public location like a coffee shop or police station parking lot instead of meeting at home. This gives you an easy out if the person seems suspicious.
Limit what you share over text/calls
Keep any text or phone conversations focused just on finalizing the transaction details. Don’t give out other personal information like your home address or work place.
Screen the buyer/seller carefully
Check that the person has a complete Marketplace profile with details like a profile photo, past reviews, and a long history of Facebook activity. Scammers often have sparse or fake-looking profiles.
Go with your gut
If anything seems weird or suspicious about the person’s behavior, communications, or requests, listen to your instincts and stop communicating with them.
When Providing Your Number is Safer
There are certain circumstances where it may be relatively safer to give your real phone number to a Marketplace buyer or seller:
– They have a robust, longstanding Facebook presence indicating they’re a real person.
– Other Marketplace users have left positive reviews about past transactions with them.
– You’ve video chatted with them through Facebook Messenger to verify their identity.
– You’re meeting in a busy public place or having them come pick the item up from your home while others are present.
– It’s a high-value transaction where both parties have a lot to lose if things go wrong.
– They seem trustworthy based on your communications and you don’t notice any red flags.
Alternatives to Sharing Personal Contact Info
If you want to keep your phone number completely private, there are some alternatives for communicating with Marketplace buyers and sellers:
Continue conversing through Facebook Messenger
Messenger allows you to share photos, locations, and other details needed to complete a transaction. The main limitation is you can’t communicate once one person leaves the Facebook platform.
Use Facebook Marketplace’s suggested meetup spots
Marketplace suggests public meetup locations based on your ZIP code. You can finalize a meeting spot without ever exchanging numbers.
Create a new Facebook profile just for Marketplace
Making a separate profile avoids giving out details from your personal account. Just be sure to avoid Facebook’s rules against maintaining multiple accounts.
Handle payment through Facebook
Facebook allows buyers and sellers to exchange payments securely without sharing financial information. This may work for small purchases under $800.
Weighing the Risk vs. Reward
At the end of the day, deciding whether to share your phone number on Facebook Marketplace is about weighing the risks against the reward.
On one hand, a phone number can make it much easier to complete a transaction by allowing faster communication off of Facebook’s platform. This convenience may be worth the relatively small risks involved for high-value transactions or when selling to established Marketplace users.
But on the other hand, handing out your personal contact information comes with some privacy and safety hazards. The risks may outweigh the benefits for small, inexpensive items being sold to unknown buyers.
Here are some questions to help assess the risk/reward tradeoff:
- – How much is the item worth? Is it worth the extra risk?
- – Have I taken steps to vet the buyer/seller beforehand?
- – Do we need real-time communication to arrange meeting up?
- – Am I selling to locals only or shipping to distant strangers?
- – Does this person seem trustworthy based on their profile and our chat so far?
- – Is there a safer way to communicate other than exchanging numbers?
Carefully considering these types of factors can help guide your decision about whether passing along your phone number makes sense in your specific Facebook Marketplace scenario. If the reward clearly outweighs the risk, it may be an acceptable idea. But if the risks are high and reward low, it’s better to find an alternative solution.
Conclusion
Giving out your phone number on Facebook Marketplace involves some degree of risk, including the possibility of scams, stalking, harassment, and general privacy violations. However, the convenience benefit of off-Facebook communication may make sharing your number worthwhile in certain circumstances where the reward justifies the risk. Steps like using a secondary number, vetting the buyer/seller thoroughly beforehand, and meeting in public can help minimize the safety hazards. Weighing the specifics of your situation and the value of the sale against the potential dangers can help determine if handing out your number is a smart move or best avoided. With proper precautions, many Facebook Marketplace transactions can be completed smoothly with phone number exchanges, but caution is still advised when contacting strangers online.