All common scams

Buying and selling online: payment tricks

A buyer or seller online says a payment app needs a "business account" you must pay for, sends too much and asks for the difference back, or asks you to read out a code to prove you are real.

What it looks like

I will pay your asking price plus extra for shipping. Zelle says I need a business account to send that much, so please send $200 to unlock it within 2 hours. Then read me the code Google sent you so I know you are real.

A made-up example. Real messages change the words, the names and the numbers.

The signs to look for

• It says a payment is stuck until you send money, or asks you to read out a code to prove you are real. No payment app charges you to receive money, and a sale never needs a code from you.
• It names a payment app or another method that is hard to undo for you to send money. Money sent that way is very hard to get back.
• It pushes you to act fast, before you have checked in your own app or bank that any money has really arrived.

What they usually ask for next

1. A buyer or seller often says a payment is "pending" until money is sent, that a business account is needed, or that they overpaid and the difference should go back.
2. They may send a fake "payment pending" email, then ask you to read back a code that was texted to you.
3. They usually pressure you to ship the item or send money before the payment is real.

If you already paid, gave access or gave a code

These are the same steps the tool shows after a check, in the same words.

1. Never read out or forward a code a stranger asks you for, even "to prove you are real". A code like that can be used to take over an account, or to set one up in your name, such as with a phone number.
2. No payment app charges you to receive money. A message saying you must pay, or open a business account, to "unlock" a payment is not from the app. Do not send anything to unlock it.
3. Only accept a payment that has actually arrived in your own payment app or bank account. Check there yourself, not from an email, a screenshot or a link the buyer sent.
4. Never send back an "overpayment" or "the difference". The first payment is often fake or reversed later, and the money you send back does not come back with it.

These steps are general guidance. They have not yet been reviewed by the organizations named, and agencies, deadlines and rules differ by country, so use your own government's official website to find the right office. We can't tell whether any step will help in your case.

This is general information, not legal, financial or investigative advice. We can't promise any money will come back.

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