Odd Lots · Thursday, September 10, 2026
Scott Glenn described 'fencing' as the process where stolen goods are consolidated, cleaned of identifying tags, and resold, increasingly through peer-to-peer online platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. He noted that while larger marketplaces like Amazon and eBay are subject to regulations like the INFORM Consumers Act, peer-to-peer platforms have a loophole, making them a hotspot for illicit sales.
“So this could be somebody's house in their garage. This could be a warehouse facility. This could be a flea market.”
“More and more since late teens, early 20s, that's online. In the past, I would say it was some of the bigger online folks, the Amazons of the world, the Ebays of the world, the bigger places. Since the Informed Consumers Act was passed in 2023, I believe is when it came effective. we've seen less of that on the bigger places. And now it's moved to more of the peer-to-peer markets. So the Craigslist, the Facebook marketplaces of the world, that's where a lot of that product is then offered for sale.”
“So that's the fencing operation. And then the money is then kicked up to wherever, or at least a portion of it, just like your traditional organized crime. It's kicked up to some bosses that are managing this whole operation from the top.”