Fake Cell Tower Lease Scam on Facebook Marketplace
Scammers use Facebook Marketplace and local buy-sell groups to pose as telecom site-acquisition agents offering to lease rural or roadside land for a cell tower that will never be built.
Part of: Fake Cell Tower Lease Scam
Last reviewed: 5 July 2026
Facebook's local classifieds and community groups have become a common hunting ground for scammers who target landowners with unsolicited posts or messages claiming a wireless carrier wants to lease their property for a new cell tower.
How this scam works on Facebook Marketplace
The scam typically starts with a Marketplace listing or a message sent to landowners in rural or semi-rural Facebook groups, claiming the poster is a 'site acquisition specialist' scouting locations for a telecom company's tower expansion. The profile often has a stock photo, a newly created account, and a handful of similar posts targeting other towns. Once a landowner replies, the scammer sends a 'lease agreement' PDF and asks for a refundable deposit, application fee, or survey fee to reserve the site, sometimes requesting payment through Facebook's own peer-to-peer payment tools or a linked external payment link.
Because the interaction stays inside Facebook Messenger, victims often skip verifying the person against any real carrier directory. The scammer may also use Marketplace's marketplace-seller trust signals, such as a profile with borrowed community group history, to appear more credible than a cold email would.
Common red flags
- Unsolicited Marketplace message or group post about leasing land for a cell tower you never advertised
- The 'agent' asks you to pay a fee, deposit, or survey cost before any lease is signed
- Request to move the conversation off Facebook to a personal email or messaging app quickly
- The account is new, has little history, or reuses the same post text across multiple town groups
- Pressure to sign a document within 24-48 hours or lose the 'opportunity'
- No verifiable employer, no callback number for a real telecom company, no listing on any carrier's official site-lease program
How to protect yourself
- Never pay any fee, deposit, or 'processing cost' to lease your own land to someone else
- Contact the wireless carrier directly through its official corporate site to confirm any site-acquisition program exists
- Search the agent's name and company name plus the word 'scam' before replying further
- Ask for a state-registered business license and a real estate broker license if one is required in your area
- Have any lease agreement reviewed by a real estate attorney before signing or paying anything
- Report and block the Facebook profile or page, and warn your local community group admins
How to report it
- Report the profile or listing directly in Facebook Marketplace using the 'Report' option
- Report to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov (US) or your national consumer protection agency
- File a complaint with the FCC if the scam impersonates a specific telecom carrier
- Alert your local Facebook community group administrators so they can remove the post and warn other members
Frequently asked questions
Do real telecom companies lease land through Facebook Marketplace?
No. Legitimate site-acquisition teams work through licensed real estate brokers, formal RFPs, or direct corporate contact, not unsolicited Marketplace posts or Messenger chats.
Is it normal to pay a fee to lease my land to a tower company?
No. In a real cell tower lease, the telecom company or its broker pays the landowner, not the other way around. Any request for you to pay upfront is a red flag.