A scammer will ask you for your personal details such as your address to use it, to achieve a bigger scam, such as identity theft. They could use that information to:
- Change your postal address to their own to receive your mail.
- Log in as you to websites.
- Commit identity theft and do things such as open bank accounts and take out debt in your name, sign up for a phone plan, and other types of contracts.
- Sell your personal information to another scammer who could do any of the above to you.
How to Avoid Getting Scammed on Facebook Marketplace
If you can avoid handing out your personal details like your address online, it is best to avoid it. Ways around having people turn up at your house include:
- Give them a fake address one or two doors down from your house.
- Do not give them your mobile phone number, and communicate through Facebook Marketplace only.
- Suggest meeting them in a public space.
Be careful when selling online, and make sure you do not give your personal information to the wrong person.