How To Reverse Image Search Cars On Facebook Marketplace (And Why You Should)

Many find Facebook Marketplace to be annoying. But it's not always annoying. Sometimes it's downright scary. We're not just talking about meeting some random stranger in a sketchy parking lot so that you can sell your old Led Zeppelin CDs. FB Marketplace is full of people wanting to part you from your money. In fact, UK-based TSB Bank estimated in 2024 that as much as one-third of the listings on that platform could be scams.

For wannabe car buyers, the danger is real. Lloyds Bank, also based in the UK, revealed that 68% of vehicle scams reported to it in the first half of 2023 began on Facebook and Instagram. Of all purchase scams reported to Lloyds in 2025, vehicle and vehicle accessory scams made up the largest category, and more than 70% of purchase scams reported to it started on platforms owned by Meta. In the U.S., consumers lost more money on scams originating on Facebook in 2025 than any other social media platform, according to the FTC. Meta itself said that it removed more than 159 million scam ads during 2025. It can be risky for sellers, too, so check out our Facebook Marketplace safety tips if you plan to sell there.

Fortunately, a simple reverse image search using the car's picture can tip you off to a scam before you get taken in. It's not hard to do either. Generally, you can either right-click the image and choose to have it searched with Google Lens or upload the picture to an image search site.

Sometimes scammers will steal the image of a car from another website, and post it to Facebook as if they are selling it. Scammers in North Carolina made $3 million do this. Doing a reverse image search will usually let you know if the picture was stolen, because it will show you the original source of the image. It's easy to do. If come across a Marketplace ad for a car that you like, right-click its image or, if you're viewing it on your phone, hold your finger down on the image. A menu should appear, and you should choose, "Search this image with Google Lens." Several search results of similar image will show up. If the image was stolen, an identical image or images will show up in the search. Click or tap on those identical images to see where the picture really came from. We should note that, if you're using a phone, this will only work on the Chrome browser, not the Facebook app.

Another easy way to do a reverse image search using your computer is to right-click the image and choose "Copy image address." In Google, choose "Search by image", which is the little square camera icon in the search bar. Then paste the url into the "Paste image link" field. You could also save the image to your device (right-click, "Save image"), then upload it to Google image search, Bing, or Tineye.com.

There are plenty of other ways to spot a Facebook Marketplace scam, besides doing a reverse image search. One way involves checking out the seller's profile. If you click on their name in Marketplace, you will see their other listings. If they listed the exact same car with the same picture in several other parts of the country, it's almost certainly a scam. It's also good to check out the profile itself. If it doesn't show any friends or posts, that's a red flag.

We've talked about how to spot if an ad was created with AI, but there are ways to spot scams that have nothing to do with the image. For example, is the price for the car too good to be true or just much lower than other similar cars? Even if the seller gives some elaborate reason for the low price, this should cause you to pause. Does the seller make excuses as to why you can't see the car yourself before paying any money? Is the seller asking you for a "deposit" before meeting with you? Are they unwilling to send you the VIN? Do they want to communicate off of Marketplace, like through a phone call? Are they sending you to some VIN-checking website that you've never heard of? (Here's how to check a VIN the right way.) Do they want to be paid through some unconventional way, like gift cards? All of these are reasons to run the other way.