Important safety tip for buying and selling number four

Buyers and sellers beware! There are people out there scamming buyers and sellers. Here is another one of our tips for buying and selling that you should be aware off as this particular way or method of scamming someone is becoming more popular by the day. Although this is not a new form of scam, people still tend to fall for it.

Our third safety tip for buying and selling covered the aspect of protecting yourself in case of any legal actions that might follow before or after selling or buying a product. It is highly recommended that you familiarize yourself with this safety tip as it will most likely prove to be invaluable if legal actions has to be taken.

Overpayment scams

Here is what you need to know about overpayment scams in short. Overpayment scam is when you are overpaid for a product or service that you are selling and then the buyer wants you to pay back the balance to him or her. It’s only after receiving the balance “owed to them” that they then revoke the payment and then disappears with your money and can even leave you with legal issues to deal with.

Here is the long scenario. You are selling your car. Now you have a potential buyer willing to buy your vehicle. They pay more than what you’ve asked for and they most often can show you a proof of payment also. They then simply say it was an “honest” mistake of over paying or simply made a finger fault when doing the online transfer of funds to your account. Now they humbly ask if you can’t pay them back the balance that you now owe them. Simple right? But not actually. Once you’ve repaid the funds that they supposedly overpaid by mistake they revoke their payment and disappear leaving you with a massive hole in your pocket where your money use to be.

This form of scamming is mostly done with a false sense of sincerity and that is one of the main reasons people tend to fall victim to such scams. People tend to trust one another way too easily – Especially if you’ve already received your money, and not just that, but got more than what you’ve actually asked for.

Most banks in South Africa allows you anywhere between 24 and 72 hour to revoke a payment.

Tips for not falling victim to such a scam:

• Be educated on the scams doing the rounds not just nationally, but internationally as well.
• Document as much as possible information like a copy of the ad, the buyer and or seller ID, bank details, cellphone number etc.
• If this type of situation does happen to you, insist that the party that overpaid you revoke their payment either online or in person at the bank in order, before you hand over the item that you are selling

Be careful of falling victim to overpayment scams and be sure to stay up to date with our safety tips for buying and selling. Remember to be safe when selling or buying, no matter where you are.