vindje.com / Guides / Buying on Marktplaats
A Tikkie or bank payment request is a normal way to pay in the Netherlands, and most of the ones you will see are genuine. The scams copy the look of a payment request to get you onto a fake page that steals your bank login, or ask you to pay a tiny 'verification' amount that opens the door to a much larger theft. The rule that stops nearly all of them: never pay or 'verify' through a link a stranger sends you unless you know exactly what it is for.
Tikkie is a payment request app from ABN AMRO that anyone with a Dutch bank account can pay. Most Dutch banks also have their own betaalverzoek (payment request) feature. You open the link, see who is asking and for how much, pick your bank, and approve the payment through iDEAL in your own banking app.
Two things are always true of a genuine request: you are sent to your own bank's app or site to approve, and you only ever pay. You never type in card numbers, PIN codes or login codes on a page outside your bank, and no request ever pays money to you.
This one mostly targets sellers, so it matters if you also sell. A 'buyer' says they want to pay via Marktplaats or a delivery service, and to receive the money you first have to verify your account by paying 1 cent or 1 euro through a link. The link leads to a fake page that looks like iDEAL or your bank. What you enter there gives the scammer access to your account.
There is no receive-money service on Marktplaats or anywhere else that requires you to pay first. If a buyer asks you to verify anything, end the chat.
Here the link works. The seller sends a correct Tikkie for the agreed price of a shipped item, you pay, and the item never comes. The Tikkie was real, the seller was not, and the account often belongs to a money mule.
Look at the name shown on the Tikkie and in the iDEAL screen before you approve. If it does not match the seller's Marktplaats name, or it is a business you have never heard of, stop. You can also check the account number, phone number or email in the police 'Controleer handelspartij' tool before paying.
Some scam links copy the Tikkie, Marktplaats or bank design almost perfectly. The giveaway is the web address and what the page asks for.
Use payment requests only at a pickup, where you can see the item and the seller sees the money arrive. For shipped items, prefer a payment method that holds the money until delivery and that you start yourself from inside the app.
When in doubt, ask for the IBAN and do a normal transfer from your banking app. A genuine seller will be fine with that. A scammer will push you back to their link.
Call your bank's fraud number straight away. Speed matters, because banks can sometimes stop or reverse a payment that has not been passed on. Block your app access or cards if they ask you to, change your passwords, and report the chat to Marktplaats. File a police report as well, online or at a station, and keep screenshots of the conversation and the link.
Describe what you want in your own words and vindje.com searches Marktplaats in Dutch, then reads every listing and keeps only the real matches. For example:
Nintendo Switch OLED with games, seller I can meet in person to pay, under 220 euro, within 20 km of AmersfoortSearch Marktplaats like this
Paying a Tikkie at a pickup, after you have seen the item, is fine. Paying a Tikkie in advance for a shipped item gives you little protection if the seller is fake.
That is a known scam. The link goes to a fake bank page that captures your login details. No genuine service needs you to pay to receive money.
A genuine Tikkie shows the requester's name and sends you to your own bank to approve. It never asks for card details or login codes on its own page.
Contact your bank immediately and report it to the police. Recovery is not guaranteed, but acting within minutes improves the chance.