The Free Piano Scam

Saturday morning, I opened up Facebook’s Marketplace and spotted a free piano. To my untrained eyes, it still looked good. I messaged the seller and got an immediate response. She told me that her family just moved into a new house. It was smaller; therefore, she needed to get rid of it as soon as possible.

I told her that I would need to hire a mover. I fell right into her trap. She told me she could recommend a mover who moved her piano yesterday. They did a great job carrying it to the second floor. She gave me their phone numbers.

I called and asked for a quote. A man answered and said that his company will charge $500. The company policy was that half must be paid first then the rest must be paid when the job was completed. I told him I couldn’t pay $250, but I could make a $50 deposit. He said that the piano was on the second floor; therefore, he needed to get a crane. He was willing to take $100. I asked him if he would take credit cards and he said no. I said how would I know if he was not scamming me. He told me to hire another local mover. We ended our conversation.

Of course, I was texting my wife during the whole transaction. She told me to be careful of scammers and advised me to ask for the piano owner’s address. When I asked for her address, she stopped responding. I reported her account.

My wife was right and she saved me from being scammed. I went back to the Marketplace and saw lots of similar listings. Beware of the free piano scams.