All deals are concluded exclusively on the platform itself or in its application. This wording belongs to the platform itself, and it means that any request to continue communication in a third-party messenger is a reason for suspicion regardless of how convincingly it is explained. The reason is simple. Inside the platform, protective mechanisms operate, the message history is kept, and support is available, while in a messenger you are left alone with the person you are talking to, and no traces will remain for review. Similarly, you should not follow links sent in private messages, since almost all modern schemes operate through them.

The Most Important Thing to Remember About Money

In order for money to be sent to you, the card number is enough. Nothing else is needed. Neither the three digits on the back, nor the PIN code, nor the code from a message, nor the expiration date together with everything listed above. All these data are needed to withdraw money, not to send it, and the main scheme against sellers is built precisely on the misunderstanding of this difference. Therefore, any request to enter the full card details supposedly to receive payment means one thing, namely an attempt to charge your money.

How Sellers Are Deceived

The mechanics look like this. The buyer shows interest, behaves politely, and says that they have already paid for the item through a secure-deal service, after which they send a link to receive the money. The link leads to a page that looks like the official website of the platform or bank, and it offers to enter the card details so that the money can be credited. What happens next is not a crediting, but a withdrawal, and immediately of the entire available amount. The next part is especially cynical. After the money disappears, the scammer sends a second link supposedly to return the money, and the person who is already in a panic enters the data again, losing what remained in other accounts. There are also variations of the same scheme. One uses a message about supposedly updated service rules with a link for confirmation. The second consists of sending a message about a technical failure with a request to repeat the payment. The third involves the attacker presenting themselves as a platform employee in the chat and confirming that entering card details is safe.

How Buyers Are Deceived

Fake websites copy the platform's interface and offer to enter a phone number to receive an authorization code. Here it is useful to remember the official clarification that viewing listings and registration are free, so if the website asks you for a phone number and code when you open it, you are not on the real resource. A reduced price remains the most reliable marker, since a product that costs noticeably less than the market price without an explanation of the reason usually does not exist. A demand for prepayment outside the platform's mechanisms means that you will have no protection, and returning the money will be practically impossible. Fake payment pages work in the same way as against sellers, that is, through links in private messages.

Risks Related to Delivery

The delivery service itself with deal protection reduces risks, since the money is transferred to the seller after receiving the item, but there are nuances here as well. One of the schemes consists of a third party managing to collect the parcel before the real recipient if they know the phone number and the branch did not ask for additional information. Because of this, you should not publish your phone number openly outside the platform, and you should check whether the selected branch requires an ID when issuing the parcel. The second scheme consists of messages about a supposed problem with the shipment, which arrive separately from the platform and contain a link.

Signs That It Is Worth Ending the Conversation

The person you are talking to insists on moving to a third-party messenger. You are sent a link to receive money. You are asked for the full card details, a code from a message, or login details.

The buyer agrees to the price without any questions and hurries to complete the deal. You are rushed, referring to the fact that the link's validity period is expiring. The person you are talking to presents themselves as a platform employee in private correspondence. You are offered to complete the deal through a service that you have never heard of.

How to Check a Link

The platform has its own link-checking tool in the help center, where you can insert the full address together with the protocol and find out whether it is genuine. In addition, you should look at the address itself in the browser bar, since fake websites usually have similar, but not identical, names, and the difference may be one letter, an additional word, or a different domain zone. The presence of a secure-connection icon proves nothing, since encryption is also present on fake websites.

Practical Rules for Deals

Communicate only in the platform's chat, and if the person you are talking to insists on another channel, consider this a refusal of the deal. To receive money, provide only the card number and nothing else. Get a separate card for deals on marketplaces, keeping a minimum balance on it, since this turns control from attentiveness into a mechanism that works by itself. Do not publish your phone number in the listing text, using the built-in communication tools instead. For a personal meeting, choose crowded places with normal lighting, check the item before handing over the money, and do not hurry. Keep the correspondence and screenshots until the deal is completed. Check the person's profile, paying attention to the registration date and the presence of other listings. If you are buying technology, separately check the device itself, which I wrote about in detail in the material about buying a used phone.

If the Money Has Already Been Lost

Immediately call the bank using the number on the card and block it, since with a quick response it is possible to stop some transfers. Do not follow any additional links, including those that promise to return the money, since this is a continuation of the same scheme.

Change the passwords to your accounts if you entered login details on a fake page. Save all evidence, that is, screenshots of correspondence, links, phone numbers, time, and amount of the transaction. Notify the platform's support service so that the scammer's profile can be blocked. Submit a report to the Cyber Police through the official website or call 102 if the fraud is happening right now. I wrote about the full procedure for dealing with such situations in a separate material about recognizing fraud.


Sources: OLX customer support center, OLX blog, The Page publications, OBOZ.UA