Edmonton man scammed out of $4.5K in Facebook Marketplace sale

An Edmonton man said he sold a Dell laptop to another man at Southgate Mall for $4,500 but the buyer switched the envelope of cash with fake bills.

An Edmonton man says he was scammed out of $4,500 in a Facebook Marketplace sale.

Rick, who did not want his last name published, had listed a high-end Dell laptop for $4,500 and had arranged to meet up with a buyer at Southgate Mall.

The man handed Rick an envelope full of cash, which Rick counted twice.

But, when Rick wasn’t looking, he says the man switched the envelope with one that contained two fake $50 bills and news clippings.

“I did all the right things by meeting in a public place, by only accepting cash and checking his profile,” said Rick. “I felt ashamed and embarrassed.”

He said he went to security, but they told Rick there wasn’t much they could do. He’s since opened a file with police.

“I’m urging everybody that’s had something like this happen to do the right thing — call the police, put in a police report — even if you don’t think it’s going to do anything,” said Rick. “If we do it enough times, these people will be caught.”

Rick said if he does do another Marketplace sale, he’ll be doing it at a police station.

“You just don’t know these days what people are going to do,” said Rick.

Edmonton police have Buy and Sell Exchange Zones at four stations in the city where people can conduct their transactions under surveillance.

CTV News Edmonton has reached out to police for comment.

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With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti