The classified scams worth recognising, and the rules that stop them
Almost every classifieds scam is a variation on six stories, and all six fail against the same four rules. Recognising the pattern is quicker than evaluating each stranger from scratch.
What this covers
Almost every scam on a classifieds platform is a variation on a small number of stories. Learning the stories is faster than assessing each stranger from scratch, and every one of them fails against the same four rules.
The four rules
- Meet in person, in daylight, in a public place, and bring someone.
- Take payment that has cleared in your own app before anything changes hands. A screenshot is not a payment.
- Never pay an advance to someone you have not met, for anything.
- Never share an OTP. Not with a buyer, not with a "delivery agent", not with anyone who says they are from the platform. Nobody legitimate ever needs it.
Everything below is a way of getting you to break one of those four.
The six patterns
The overpayment. The buyer "accidentally" sends more than the price and asks you to refund the difference. The original payment then reverses and the refund does not. If a payment arrives wrong, do not send anything back — let it be reversed by the bank.
The courier who needs a fee. The buyer is out of station and will send an agent, but you must first pay a small delivery or insurance charge, refundable of course. There is no agent.
The screenshot. A convincing payment confirmation image, sometimes a very good one. Check your own banking app. Only your own app is evidence.
The OTP. "I have sent the payment, just read me the code to confirm." That code is not confirming a payment to you; it is authorising one from you.
The advance to hold it. A buyer for a car or flat wants you to take a deposit to reserve it, or a seller wants one from you before you view. Money before meeting is the pattern; the direction of travel varies.
The move off-platform immediately. The first message pushes you onto another app before anything about the item has been discussed. It is not always a scam — plenty of honest deals finish on WhatsApp — but a first message that is only about switching apps is a signal worth noticing.
Specific to buying
- Ask to see the item before paying anything. A seller who will not let you is telling you something.
- Treat a price far below the market as information, not a bargain. There is a reason.
- For a vehicle, check the papers against the vehicle — chassis number, RC name, insurance name — before money moves. Details that do not match are the whole story.
- For a phone, check the IMEI and make sure it is signed out of the previous owner's account before you hand over cash.
Specific to selling
- Do not post document images in a listing. Title deeds, RCs and IDs carry everything an impersonator needs.
- Do not ship before the money has cleared. Ever. This single rule prevents the most common loss.
- Meet somewhere with people and light. A fuel station, a shopping centre, a busy shopfront.
What verification does and does not do
A verified account means the platform has confirmed a real, contactable person. That removes the disposable-account anonymity nearly all of this depends on, which is genuinely useful.
It is not a guarantee of honesty, and it is not a reason to skip the four rules. Verified or not: meet, in public, and take cleared payment.
If something goes wrong
Stop communicating, keep everything — messages, numbers, transaction references, the listing — and report it. To the platform through contact, and for a financial loss, to your bank immediately and to the national cybercrime helpline 1930. Speed matters more than anything else with a transfer that has just left your account.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a payment confirmation screenshot proof that I have been paid?
- No. Screenshots are trivially faked and are the most common classifieds fraud in India. Only a credit visible in your own banking or UPI app counts.
- A buyer sent too much and wants the difference back. What should I do?
- Send nothing. This is the overpayment scam: the original payment reverses and your refund does not. Let the bank reverse the incorrect amount.
- Should I ever share an OTP with a buyer?
- Never, with anyone, for any reason. An OTP does not confirm a payment to you — it authorises one from you. No legitimate buyer, agent or platform ever needs it.
- Is it safe to deal with a verified member without precautions?
- No. Verification confirms a real, contactable person and removes disposable-account anonymity, but it does not guarantee honesty. Meet in public and take cleared payment regardless.
- I have been defrauded. What should I do first?
- Contact your bank immediately, call the cybercrime helpline 1930, and preserve every message, number and transaction reference. Speed matters most with a recent transfer.
