Young Rochester Woman Falls Victim to Facebook Marketplace Scam

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A young Rochester woman has fallen victim to a Facebook Marketplace scam. 

Read More: Rochester Police: Local Man Lost Thousands in Text Message Scam 

It’s the second time in less than a week that Rochester police have reported a resident being scammed. 

On Tuesday, police reported a 70-year-old man lost $14,000 after receiving a text message that his iPhone had been corrupted. 

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Both of the scams reported this week involved the victims making a cryptocurrency transfer to the scammer. 

21-Year-Old Rochester, MN Woman Out $1,000 After Falling Victim to Facebook Marketplace Scam

A post on the Rochester Police Department’s Facebook page says the 21-year-old woman was trying to sell clothing when the scammer, who was impersonating a buyer, emailed the victim and said they would pay her through Venmo. 

The victim then got an email saying the money had been sent to her Venmo account but said she needed to pay $500 to open a Venmo business account in order to access the money. 

She sent $500 via Apple Pay to an email address the scammer provided her. Police say she was still told she was unable to access the payment in her account and called a phone number listed in the scammer’s email message. 

She was told during the phone call that she had to send $500 in bitcoin in order to access the funds. The young woman followed the instructions and was still unable to retrieve the money. 

Police said at that point she realized she had been scammed. Her loss was $1,000.