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One fake story, three different messages
You sold something on a marketplace app, or you're waiting for a parcel. First a text arrives: "The buyer has paid, collect your funds: [link]" or "Your parcel requires a $1.10 surcharge." Shortly after, an email with similar wording, made to look like an official message from the platform or courier company. Maybe someone even calls, confirming that "the transaction is waiting to be finalised."
Each of these channels alone might raise your suspicion. But when they arrive together, close in time, they create the impression of a consistent story confirmed from multiple directions. That's exactly what the scammer is counting on.
Why it's always a small amount
Whether it's a "parcel surcharge" or a "commission to release your sale proceeds," the amount is always small | just a dollar or two. That's no accident. A small amount doesn't raise suspicion the way a request for a larger sum would, while the page the link leads to isn't actually meant to collect that fee at all.
The real goal is a payment form where you enter your full card details | number, expiry date, CVV code, and sometimes even a text-message authorisation code. This data goes straight to criminals and can be used for much larger transactions, which you'll only discover later in your account history.
How to spot the difference between a real and a fake site
Fake sites copy the look of genuine marketplaces or courier companies very closely, but the web address always gives it away. Watch for extra words, hyphens, or swapped letters in the address, like "ebay-payments.com" instead of the platform's real domain.
What to do when you get a message like this
- Don't click the link in the text or email | go to the platform yourself by typing the address manually
- Check your transaction history directly in your account on the marketplace
- Remember that real platforms don't ask for card details to "release" money from a sale
- The same pattern can appear on any marketplace app, not just around parcel deliveries
How we practise this in the ODYSSEY course
In the "Recognise the scam" module you'll find a simulation of exactly this situation | you practise comparing website addresses and build the habit of typing an address yourself instead of clicking a link from a message.