I love selling on Poshmark, but unfortunately there are a lot of scams to watch out for, on the selling side. This latest one was titled KYC verification required for your Poshmark sale and came from Calendly.

*See how to report this scam at the bottom of this post.

Fake KYC Verification Emails From Calendly

I recently started adding more clothes for sale on Poshmark, and it didn’t take long for the scam messages to start arriving.

Within about five minutes of posting an item, I received multiple suspicious messages connected to my listings. One of the more convincing attempts came through email and claimed that I needed to complete KYC verification before my Poshmark sale could be completed.

The email said:

“A KYC (Know Your Customer) verification is required before your sale on Poshmark can be completed.”

It included a link telling me to open my account and complete the verification.

There was one obvious problem: the email wasn’t from Poshmark, but from Calendly.

The confusing part for new sellers is that KYC is actually a real process used by Poshmark. The scam takes a legitimate Poshmark requirement and uses it to make a fraudulent verification request appear credible.

Since I’ve been selling on Poshmark for a long time, it was easy for me to see through the scam attempt. But a new seller might be tricked.

What Is KYC, and Does Poshmark Really Use It?

KYC stands for “Know Your Customer.” It’s an identity verification process used by financial institutions, payment processors and online marketplaces to confirm that customers are who they say they are.

Poshmark has an official Seller Verification Policy that specifically identifies its Know Your Customer program.

According to the policy, Poshmark collects certain identifying information from sellers to comply with government regulations, prevent fraud and improve marketplace security. This can include a seller’s legal name, date of birth, residential address, phone number and Social Security number. Poshmark may also request identity documents, proof of address or selfie verification.

So, seeing the term “KYC” in an email about Poshmark isn’t enough on its own to identify a scam, which is what makes this particular phishing attempt more convincing.

The scammer isn’t inventing a fake verification program. They’re using the name of a real Poshmark process to try to direct sellers to a fraudulent website.

How Does Real Poshmark KYC Verification Work?

If Poshmark needs to verify your seller information, the request should be associated with your actual Poshmark account.

Poshmark’s Seller Verification Policy explains that sellers can access their KYC information by going to “Account Settings” and selecting “Seller KYC Info.” The company may periodically ask sellers to review or update this information.

Note that if you do want to update that info, it takes time for them to reverify you, and you might not be able to complete a sale and print shipping labels during that time.

The safest approach is therefore not to assume that every KYC request is fake. Instead, verify the request independently.

If an email says Poshmark needs additional verification, don’t use the link in the email. Open the Poshmark app yourself or go directly to the Poshmark website and check your account.

If Poshmark genuinely needs information from you, deal with the request there.

Why Did the Scam Email Come From Calendly?

Calendly is a legitimate online scheduling platform. People and businesses use it to schedule appointments and meetings. However, it has nothing to do with processing a Poshmark sale.

Calendly allows users to customize automated email messages. Its current documentation shows that users can customize email subject lines and message bodies, and Calendly’s automation features allow external hyperlinks to be inserted into emails.

That functionality can apparently be abused.

Instead of sending an obvious phishing email from a questionable address, a scammer can attempt to use a legitimate third-party service to deliver a customized message containing a fraudulent link.

This is an important reminder that the domain sending an email isn’t the only thing that matters.

Calendly itself is legitimate. That doesn’t make a Poshmark verification message delivered through Calendly legitimate.

In fact, the fact that Calendly is sending a message about completing a Poshmark sale is one of the biggest warning signs.

This Is Not What Happens When You Make a Poshmark Sale

New sellers may be particularly vulnerable to this scam because they don’t yet know what an actual Poshmark sale looks like.

A legitimate sale should appear within your Poshmark account.

Poshmark handles the buyer’s payment through its platform. Its Terms of Service state that buyers use payment methods approved by Poshmark and that Poshmark receives the buyer’s payment on behalf of the seller.

You don’t need to follow a Calendly link to allow a buyer to pay you, and you definitely don’t need to enter credit card information to “activate” a sale.

You also don’t need to send a buyer your email address so they can complete their purchase.

And you shouldn’t enter passwords, banking information, verification codes or identity documents into a website reached through an unexpected third-party message.

If someone claims that your item sold, check Poshmark directly.

Open the app and look at your sales. Don’t rely on a screenshot, comment, message or unrelated email as proof that somebody purchased your item.

Why the Scammers Target New Poshmark Listings

What surprised me most about these attempts was how quickly they appeared. I received several suspicious messages within approximately five minutes of posting items for sale.

The timing makes sense from a scammer’s perspective.

Someone who has been selling on Poshmark for years knows exactly what happens when an item sells. Someone who posted their first item five minutes ago may not.

A new seller may see a message claiming an item has sold and assume the unfamiliar verification procedure is simply part of Poshmark’s process.

The use of the real KYC terminology makes that scenario even more believable.

Whether the scammers are manually watching new listings or using some form of automation isn’t clear from the messages themselves. What is clear is that new listings can attract scam attempts remarkably quickly.

What If You Already Clicked the Link?

If you clicked a suspicious link but didn’t enter any information, close the page rather than continuing with the verification.

If you entered your Poshmark password, go directly to Poshmark and change it.

If you provided banking or credit card information, contact the appropriate bank or card issuer.

And if you provided sensitive identity information, such as your Social Security number or a copy of your driver’s license, consider taking additional identity-theft precautions.

The important thing is to access Poshmark independently rather than returning to the link in the suspicious email.

How to Report this Scam

You can help stop the scammers by reporting these e-mails to Calendly. Forward the e-mail to trust@calendly.com and let them know these people are impersonating Poshmark.

I’ve been sending all the e-mails I get, which is now probably about 20. It’s ridiculous. I did get a reply back from Calendly, so hopefully this will help stop some of these scammers. Or at least make it a little harder for them!

The Bottom Line: Poshmark KYC Is Real, but This Email Is Fake

The most important detail about this scam is that KYC itself isn’t fake. Poshmark really does have a KYC program, and sellers may legitimately be required to provide identity information.

The email I received was not from Poshmark. It was delivered through an unrelated scheduling platform and attempted to direct me to a verification link.

For new Poshmark sellers, the simplest rule is to keep everything within Poshmark.

The scammers may contact you within minutes of posting your first item, but knowing what a legitimate Poshmark transaction looks like makes these attempts much easier to recognize.

Poshmark Service Bot

Right after posting this, I got another similar scam asking me to verify my seller info. There is no such thing as a Poshmark service bot!