Selling on Jiji or Facebook Marketplace and the "buyer" asks for your details

Selling on Jiji or Facebook Marketplace and the "buyer" asks for your details

You list something you no longer use on Jiji, Facebook Marketplace, Instagram or a WhatsApp buy-and-sell group and, within minutes, an eager buyer appears. They do not price, they ask nothing about the item and they are in a big hurry. They want to move to WhatsApp "to make it faster" and, soon after, send you a link: "I've paid through the escrow, click here to receive your money" or "My dispatch rider is coming, confirm your details so he can pick it up". If you open it, you see a page that looks official asking for your card number, expiry date, CVV, PIN or OTP. That is not a payment to you: it is theft. The rule that dismantles everything: to receive money you never have to give your card details, PIN or any code.

How does the fake buyer scam work?

• They pull you off the platform. First they move the conversation to WhatsApp, SMS or Telegram. Outside the platform's own chat, nothing filters their links and nobody can step in.
• They send you a fake link. The page copies the look of the marketplace, a bank, an "escrow service" or a courier company. It says your payment is "pending" and that, to release it, you must enter your card. With that data they make purchases or withdrawals.
• They ask for codes. After you enter your card, your bank sends an OTP to authorise a transaction. The fake page asks for it "to confirm you are the owner". That code is your signature: you are authorising a payment, not receiving one.
• The fake alert variant. The buyer sends a fake credit alert SMS or a screenshot of a "successful transfer" and asks you to hand over the item to their rider. No money ever arrives.
• The "overpayment" variant. They claim to have paid you too much "including dispatch" and ask you to transfer back the difference. The original payment never existed.

What they all share is pressure: the buyer "is travelling tomorrow", "the rider is already on the way", "the link expires in 30 minutes". The rush is there so you do not stop to think.

How do I tell the buyer is fake?

1. They want to continue on WhatsApp or SMS from the start, for no clear reason.
2. They ask nothing about the item and do not negotiate.
3. They send you a link to get paid. To receive a bank transfer, you only need to give your account number and name, nothing else.
4. The web address is not the official one. Look for added words and hyphens ("secure-payment", "jiji-escrow", "delivery-confirm") or strange endings. Read it calmly.
5. They ask for your card, CVV, PIN or OTP. Never needed to receive money.
6. A new profile with no reviews or a generic name and photo.
7. Logistics excuses: a relative will collect, a "private" courier, shipping to another state with fees you must cover first.

What do I do right now?

1. Do not open the link or enter details. If you opened it but typed nothing, close it.
2. Go back to the platform's official chat and follow its safety advice. A genuine buyer will accept paying in a safe way.
3. Confirm payments only in your own bank app, opened by you, never from a link or an SMS alert. Do not release the item until the money is in your account.
4. Prefer meeting in a safe public place for in-person sales, during the day, and ideally with someone else.
5. Save evidence: screenshots of the chat, the number or profile, the link (copied as text, without opening it) and the date.
6. Block and report the profile on the platform and the number on WhatsApp.

What if I've already entered my details or a code?

Do not blame yourself: these pages are very well made. Speed matters:

1. Call your bank immediately on the number on the back of your card or in its app. Ask them to block the card and review recent transactions.
2. Report charges you do not recognise as unauthorised and ask for them to be disputed. The sooner, the better.
3. Change your passwords for the marketplace account and your email, and turn on two-step verification.
4. If you shared a WhatsApp code, someone may try to take your account: turn on two-step verification and warn your contacts.
5. If you handed over the item after a fake alert, report it to the police with the buyer's details, number and any photos of the rider or vehicle.
6. Stay alert to follow-up calls "from your bank" asking you to move money or share codes. Your bank will not ask for those.

If your bank does not resolve your complaint, escalate it to the Central Bank of Nigeria's consumer protection department.

Where do I report it?

• The police, at a station or through the Nigeria Police Force's National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) e-reporting portal, with all the screenshots and bank statements.
• The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), if you lost money.
• The platform itself: report the profile and the conversation from the app.
• The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), if the problem involves a business that does not respond to your complaint.
• NoCall, adding the number to the spam numbers directory so other sellers recognise it.

Frequently asked questions

Can someone steal from me with just my account number? No. Your account number and name are enough to receive money. The danger is your card details, PIN, password and OTP.

The buyer says the platform "requires" me to verify my card. Is that true? No. If a platform needed something from you, it would ask inside its official app, not through a link a stranger sends on WhatsApp.

The credit alert came by SMS. Isn't that proof? No. SMS alerts can be faked. The only proof is the balance and history in your own bank app.

Is it safe to sell in person? Meeting in a public place and confirming the transfer in your bank app before handing over the item is reasonable. Be wary of any "proof of payment" that is only a screenshot or SMS.

In short

When you are selling, the money comes to you: you never pay, enter your card or give codes to receive it. Keep the conversation on the platform, distrust links and rushing, confirm payment in your own bank app and, if you already entered details, call your bank before anything else. If you want an extra warning about suspicious numbers, NoCall helps you identify who is on the other end before you reply.