Scammed on Kleinanzeigen? Secure the evidence first

What to capture on Kleinanzeigen

Why Kleinanzeigen evidence disappears so fast

Kleinanzeigen is a classifieds platform: most deals are between private people, often with pickup in person or a quick bank transfer. That makes it attractive for scammers. The platform removes suspicious ads and blocks accounts once they are reported – which is good for other users, but bad for your evidence.

Once the ad is gone, you can no longer show the police what was promised, at what price, under which profile. Your bank or PayPal will also ask what exactly you paid for. That is why the order matters: capture first, report second.

The most common Kleinanzeigen scams

Fake Sicher bezahlen links (phishing)

Mostly aimed at sellers. A “buyer” wants your item immediately and sends a link, often via WhatsApp or e-mail, supposedly to receive the money through Sicher bezahlen. The page looks like Kleinanzeigen but asks for your card details or online banking login. To receive money through the real system, you never have to pay anything or enter card data on a page someone sent you.

PayPal Friends and Family and advance payment

The seller asks for payment via PayPal Friends and Family “to save fees”, or via bank transfer in advance, and then never ships. Kleinanzeigen itself strongly advises against both. Friends and Family payments are not covered by PayPal buyer protection, and a completed bank transfer cannot simply be reversed.

Fake rental ads (Wohnungsbetrug)

A flat in a big city at a suspiciously low rent. The “landlord” is abroad, cannot show the flat, and asks for a deposit or the first rent before handing over the keys – sometimes via a fake booking or courier service. Expats and students looking from abroad are frequent targets.

Fake shipping and too-good-to-be-true offers

Popular electronics, consoles or tickets far below market price, a seller who refuses Sicher bezahlen, or a fake tracking number. Kleinanzeigen puts it plainly: there is no reason for a seller to refuse its protected payment method.

What to do in the first hour

1. Stop paying. Do not send a “fee”, “insurance” or “verification” payment to unlock your money – that is part of the scam.
2. Capture the ad and the seller profile from their public URLs while they are still online.
3. Save the complete chat from your Kleinanzeigen account and any WhatsApp, SMS or e-mail conversation.
4. If you entered card or banking data on a fake page, call your bank now and have the card or access blocked.
5. If you paid, contact your bank or PayPal immediately and ask about a recall, chargeback or dispute.
6. Only now report the ad and the user to Kleinanzeigen, and file a criminal complaint with the police.

Capturing the ad and the profile

The ad page and the public profile are visible without login, which means they can be captured independently from their URL. Copy the link from the address bar or the share button. Note the ad ID – it helps the police and Kleinanzeigen find the listing in their systems even after it was deleted.

• The ad: title, price, all photos (open the gallery), full description, location, date posted and ad ID.
• The seller profile: display name, member since, rating, number of ads and the other ads currently online.
• Anything that shows the pattern: the same photos or text in other ads, other cities, other names.
• For fake rental ads: the full listing including address, rent, deposit and the landlord’s contact details.

Messages, WhatsApp and payment links

Your conversation on Kleinanzeigen is only visible in your own logged-in account, so no outside tool can fetch it from a URL. Save it from your own account: scroll through the whole chat so that dates and the other user’s name are visible. Do the same for WhatsApp, SMS and e-mails – export the WhatsApp chat as well as capturing it.

• Keep the exact link you received. The fake payment page is public, so it can be captured from its URL for the police – but do not type anything into it.
• Note the phone number, e-mail address and any name or IBAN the scammer gave you.
• Do not delete the conversation, even if you block the user.
• Never log into anyone else’s account or use fake profiles to get more information – such evidence can be unusable and illegal.

How to capture messages behind your login with the browser widget →

Sicher bezahlen: what Kleinanzeigen buyer protection covers

Sicher bezahlen is Kleinanzeigen’s built-in payment with buyer protection. The buyer pays inside the platform, the money is held in trust by the payment provider Adyen and released to the seller only after the buyer confirms receipt – or after Kleinanzeigen decides a reported problem. According to the Kleinanzeigen help centre, the buyer pays a service fee of 0.50 € plus 4.5 % of the price; selling is free.

• Covered: the item was not shipped, differs significantly from the description, is counterfeit, or is wrong or incomplete.
• Not covered: items shipped outside Germany, digital goods, perishable goods, normal wear, minor deviations, and items you already confirmed.
• Once you confirm receipt and the money is released, it cannot be undone – check the item first.
• Problems are reported in the Kleinanzeigen message box of the transaction, within the period shown there. Do it as soon as something is wrong.

Getting your money back

Speed matters more than anything. The earlier your bank or payment provider hears about the fraud, the better the chance that money can still be stopped.

• Bank transfer (SEPA): ask your bank to request a recall of the transfer and report the fraud. It is not guaranteed, but it is worth trying immediately.
• Card payment on a phishing page: block the card, dispute the payments and ask about a chargeback.
• PayPal Goods and Services: open a dispute in PayPal. With Friends and Family you can still report the fraud to PayPal, but buyer protection does not apply.
• Sicher bezahlen: report the problem inside the transaction before confirming receipt.

Step by step: how to get your money back after an online scam →

Where to report a Kleinanzeigen scam

1. Kleinanzeigen: use the report function on the ad or in the chat, after you have captured everything.
2. Police: file a criminal complaint for fraud. In Germany you can do it online via the Onlinewache of your federal state – the portal onlinewache.polizei.de links to all of them.
3. Bank or PayPal: report the fraud and keep the case number.
4. Phishing: forward fake e-mails or links to your bank and, if needed, to the provider whose brand was misused.

If you live outside Germany, report to the police in your country of residence; they can cooperate with German authorities. Attach the ad ID, the seller’s profile, the IBAN or PayPal address and your evidence files. In Germany, the Verbraucherzentrale can advise on disputes with sellers.

More on fake marketplace payment links and how to spot them →

How to capture Kleinanzeigen evidence properly

For the public parts – the ad, the seller profile, a phishing page – GetProofAnchor makes a server-side forensic capture from the URL: full-page screenshot, source HTML, network log, SHA-256 hashes, an eIDAS qualified timestamp and a Bitcoin anchor. You get an Evidence ZIP and PDF report that anyone can verify independently. A one-time starter pack of 3 proofs costs 9 €, no subscription.

Chats behind your login can be captured with the browser widget on subscription plans, directly from your own logged-in browser. If you do not want to do it yourself, Assisted Capture captures public URLs for you within 60 minutes, no account needed. No tool can guarantee that a court or police will accept evidence, but a sealed capture is far harder to dispute than a screenshot.

See the starter pack and plans →

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information, not legal advice. Kleinanzeigen and payment provider rules change – always check the current terms in the help centre and ask a lawyer or consumer advice centre about your specific case.