Marketplace Message Scams UK: How to Spot Them.

Marketplace message scams in the UK succeed when they look like routine buyer–seller chat. Spot them by checking where the link goes, whether payment stays on-platform, and whether anyone asks for codes, remote access, or secrecy.

If a seller asks you to abandon platform checkout for a “friendlier” transfer, treat it as a hard stop unless you fully accept the risk. Prefer protected payment and the habits in how to avoid buying scams.

Email receipts are trivial to forge. Confirm funds only inside the platform. Courier pickup stories that demand advance fees are covered in seller scam avoidance.

Attackers prefer email and SMS because they control the template. In-app messages are harder to spoof but not immune, especially if an account is compromised. When an email alleges a problem with a Computey or other marketplace order, log in manually and check the real inbox. Do not approve login prompts you did not initiate.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app where available, use unique passwords for marketplaces and email, and treat attachments in marketplace emails as hostile until verified.

Cloned checkout pages harvest card details and passwords. Clues include odd domains, missing HTTPS details you expect, low-quality logos, and urgency timers. If you reached checkout from a chat link rather than your own listing flow, stop. Return to Computey or your bookmark and restart.

Scammers increasingly push voice notes and QR codes because they are harder to skim. Slow down. Transcribe the ask in your own words: are they requesting money, codes, or remote access? QR codes that open payment pages outside your marketplace deserve the same suspicion as short links.

If you sell regularly, write a five-bullet personal policy and follow it when a message makes you emotional or rushed.

If partners or staff also access marketplace emails, agree who may approve payouts and who may click shipping links. Many “I thought you sent that” moments are phishing that succeeded because two people shared an inbox without a rule set.

Create a simple rule: no payment or password actions from inbound links, ever. All account changes start from a bookmarked URL, whether you buy on Computey or sell via start selling.

Read buying scam guidance and selling scam guidance back-to-back so you recognise mirrored scripts. Scammers reuse structure: fear, urgency, authority, and a payment detour. Your defence is process, not intuition alone.

• Report the user and message through the marketplace tools.

• If you entered credentials, change passwords and enable 2FA on a clean device session.

• If money moved, contact your bank promptly and keep message evidence.

• For rights vs scam distinctions, see consumer rights UK.

Keep buying and selling inside clearer flows on Computey, read more guides on editorial, list via start selling, or explore WeBuyAnyPC. Trust bookmarked terms pages over inbound messages about fees.