Marysville family fearful for their safety after personal info used in Facebook ad scam
MARYSVILLE, Wash. - Nearly twenty groups of strangers knocked on a Marysville family’s door this week looking for a couch they bought on Facebook Marketplace. However, the family isn't even selling any type of couch.
Sunday morning, Danica Sieber said she checked her phone and realized she was locked out of her Facebook. She then received strange notifications from the money transfer app, Venmo.
A few moments later, there was a knock at the Sieber's door.
"When I answered the door, there is a group of people at the door asking about a couch. And I’ve never seen these people before, talked to them or anything like that," said Danica’s husband Joshua Sieber.
The Siebers found out that the people at the door were responding to a Facebook Marketplace post for a couch. The post was from Danica Sieber’s Facebook account, but she is not the one who put the ad online.
"Somebody has hijacked her account and is using it to sell a fake couch," said Joshua Sieber.
The Siebers said over the last few days, 17 groups of people have come to their front door looking for the couch they paid for.
"When I got to work, all I can think about is, ‘is someone going to show up at my house? Are my kids and my wife going to be safe? How mad is this person going to be?’ When people owe money, people get mad," said Joshua Sieber.
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The Siebers also have screen recordings and screenshots of the scammers using Danica's Facebook account to steal money from unsuspecting community members.
Danica Sieber said the scammer or scammers got into her Facebook, Venmo, and they have a picture of her driver’s license. She says they hacked into several other platforms.
"It’s defamation," said Danica.
"It’s making us look like criminals," said Joshua.
The family said they reported the scam to Facebook, the Marysville Police Department and the Federal Trade Commission.
They are sharing their story with FOX 13 News as a warning to other members of the community.
"I’ve been so stressed out. It’s been hard to eat, sleep. I have a family to take care of," said Danica.
The Siebers are still working to get control of Danica’s Facebook page. They said the scammers blocked them on the social media website, so it is difficult to see what they are doing. However, the Siebers have other people looking on Marketplace and believe the fraudulent post is down.
The Marysville Police Department told FOX 13 that they are investigating the case.
FOX 13 News reached out to Facebook about this case. They have not responded.
Facebook does provide information regarding selling on its Marketplace that you can read here.