Here’s a scam that is a lot more sophisticated than any I’ve encountered so far.
I am looking for a recumbent elliptical machine to strengthen my failing hip and there are many listings on FB Marketplace by people practically giving used ones away. I want a highly rated one (Teeter FreeStep LT3) that retails for about $900 new. There is a FB listing in my area advertising a used one for $107:
(https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/984714400734646/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A0dcc82d4-9789-40ba-99f2-280bf2b5440b).
I sent the seller a message and she replied that it had sold, but that she had bought hers online from propied,com (replace , with . for the URL), and I should see whether they have any left.
So I Googled propied,com and (Red Flag #1) Google can’t find it.
She gave an alternative URL https://propied,com/products/2609599
Red Flag #2: This brings up a “Lidl” page with one of those very suspicious “store closing selling everything 90% off” announcements (as in it would be cheaper just to take the stuff to the landfill).
But how did the FB seller buy this machine from this obviously fraudulent website?
Red Flag #3: She joined FB in 2026
Red Flag #4: The photos of the elliptical (which she said in the ad she bought and used at home) are all in different rooms. So she moved a 100+ lb machine around 3 times just to take pictures?
Red Flag #5: I looked at the seller’s “other items.” Long story short, ALL of them are available on the fake Lidl website at unbelievably cheap prices.
It appears this is a two-level scam. The perps are running a fly-by-night website supplemented with fake FB sellers in at least some markets. I imagine myself to be pretty skeptical but this one nearly got me. I reported the seller to FB, but am not holding my breath. I wonder whether Lidl knows their name & logo have been stolen?