Are you buying something on OLX, Vinted, Facebook Marketplace, or a similar site, and the other person sends you a link to "pay for shipping"? Or are you selling something, and a buyer asks you to send money first "as a deposit"? Either way, this could be a scam. The good news: these scams follow a pattern. Once you know the pattern, you can spot it in seconds and keep your money safe.
Scam one: the fake shipping payment link
This is the most common scenario. You list an item for sale. A "buyer" messages you, very friendly, wants to buy right away without asking about price or condition. Then they say the shipping has to be paid through a special link, because "that's how the platform works" or "that's how the courier works." The link looks like a payment page, sometimes even carrying a real courier company's or marketplace's logo.
In reality, it's a fake page. If you enter your card number and the one-time code from a text message there (a one-time code your bank sends to confirm a payment), the scammer gets access to your account and can take money out of it. Here is the key point: as a seller, you never need to click anything to "receive" payment for shipping. Money for a sold item lands in your account automatically, through the platform's own system, without you entering a card number anywhere.
Scam two: a seller demanding payment upfront
This version works the other way around. You are the buyer. You find an attractive listing, often priced noticeably low. The "seller" claims many people are interested and asks for payment upfront (money sent before you receive the item) to "reserve" it. After you send the money, the seller stops replying. The item never existed.
Warning sign: a price clearly lower than other sellers are asking, pressure to hurry ("others are already asking, you need to decide fast"), and no option to pick the item up in person because the seller "is traveling" or "is abroad right now."
Scam three: a fake courier account in the chat
Sometimes the scammer poses in the chat not as a buyer or seller, but as a courier company employee. They say the parcel is "waiting on an extra payment" or that you need to "verify your details" through a link. This is the same trick as a fake delivery text message, just moved into a marketplace's own chat. No real courier company asks for your card number in a private message on a sales platform.
How to spot a scam before you lose any money
- The other person asks for payment upfront, before shipping or pickup.
- You receive a link to "pay for shipping" even though you are the seller and should not be paying anything.
- The page behind the link looks similar to a known one, but the address in your browser is different: extra words, a different domain ending, odd spelling.
- The other person is in a big hurry, pushes for a quick decision, and avoids a phone call.
- The price is noticeably, suspiciously lower than other listings for the same item.
- Picking the item up in person is impossible, and shipping has to go through a "special" method the other side insists on.
One rule that protects you in every one of these situations
Payment for an item or its shipping always goes through the marketplace's own system (OLX, Vinted, Facebook Marketplace, and similar platforms), never through a link sent privately in a chat. If someone sends you a payment link outside the platform's own app, that is your signal to stop. Do not click it. You can always contact the platform's own support team and ask whether this is a normal procedure. The answer is almost always no.
What to do if you have already been scammed
If you entered your card number on a suspicious page, clicked a fake link and typed in the text-message code, or already sent an upfront payment, time matters. Act right away, without embarrassment. Every minute counts.
If you want to check whether your own personal account sends good real-time transaction alerts, you can compare accounts at /en/best/personal-accounts.
Remember: you are not the first person this has happened to, and there is no reason to feel ashamed. Scammers count on rushing people and on the embarrassment that keeps people from reporting quickly. The faster you act, the better your chance of getting your money back.