Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department is warning residents about a common fraud on Facebook Marketplace that can leave sellers out of both their property and the money, the department said in a Facebook post on June 22, 2026.
The department said fraudsters often pose as buyers and use counterfeit cashier’s checks or fraudulent ACH wire transfers to pay for vehicles, side-by-sides or heavy equipment. By the time a seller learns the payment was fraudulent, the item is often gone and the seller can be left continuing to pay a loan on a vehicle they no longer possess.
The department outlined a typical scheme in which a seller lists a vehicle for $80,000 with a $35,000 payoff to a lender. A buyer agrees to wire the payoff and pay the remainder by cashier’s check. The buyer uses stolen or compromised banking data to complete an ACH transfer that initially appears to clear, then is recalled when the account owner discovers the fraud. A recall can take a day or several weeks, the department said.
Pearl River County urged users to exercise caution when selling online and to verify payments directly with banks before transferring property. Anyone who believes they are a victim is asked to contact Central Dispatch at 601-749-5482 to file a report. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
