Cases of fraud in the sale of goods occur every day. At the same time, free message boards on the Internet, for example, Avito, are actively used. This is indeed a great way to sell or buy a product, but it is worth remembering that you have the opportunity to fall into the trap of scammers. Moreover, we are talking not only about fraudulent sellers, of whom there are many on the Internet, but also about the so-called phantom buyers.
Buyer fraud is not uncommon. There are many schemes for this. An experienced fraudulent buyer is capable of deceiving almost any novice, inexperienced seller. You should be extremely vigilant when making such transactions. In this article we will talk about several popular ways to deceive fraudulent buyers on Avito, and give recommendations on how not to fall for their bait.
Fraud scheme on Avito and similar message boards
Any seller could be the victim. To a greater extent, this method is designed for people who are far from the field of sales and are not strong in matters of financial literacy (in this case, we mean gaps in the rules for using bank cards).
The fraudster contacts the seller in order to find out details about the product of interest. In this case, the buyer offers to immediately transfer funds to the card in advance, offering to reserve the product for him and remove the advertisement for sale from the site. The legend is simple: “I don’t have time now, but in a few days I’m ready to drive up and pick up the goods I ordered.”
For sellers, this option is only “at hand” - they paid, and thank God, but only for experienced sellers. The fraudster selects a victim who is engaged in the sale of expensive, but stale goods. Also, for a phantom buyer, the ideal option would be a seller who has just posted his ad. But in fact, absolutely anyone can become a victim.
The essence of this method is that the victim, due to an excellent sales option, may forget about security and will not have time to expose the deception in a timely manner. During correspondence or, most often, during a telephone conversation, the fraudster asks for the card details necessary for the transfer, and carefully asks whether SMS messages are received after each card transaction, i.e. is it connected to mobile banking? The victim, in his joy, sometimes forgets about security, and in addition to the card number, also provides other information about the card, which is the main goal of the swindler.
Further, events can develop according to one of the scenarios below (there may actually be more of them, but the meaning of the scam is the same).
Site overview
Avito is the most popular service in Russia for all kinds of advertisements/offers, services/products. It also operates outside our country, but within its borders it has tens of thousands of different offers in literally every city. It is extremely simple and clear to use, because everything simple is convenient, and what is convenient attracts much more visitors.
Scenario of deception on Avito No. 1. Transfer from card to card using card2card services
There are many official card-to-card transfer services on the Internet (card2card or c2c), and they can be found on the websites of various banks. They allow you to transfer a certain amount from your card account to the card account of any bank in a matter of minutes using only its number (with a commission, of course). To do this, you must indicate in the appropriate form all the necessary card details: its number, expiration date, full name, authentication code CVC2/CVV2 (three digits on the back of the plastic). After you enter the transfer amount, you need to go through one more step: confirming the operation with a one-time SMS code (3-D Secure service).
The scammer’s goal is to receive all the details listed above and an SMS confirmation code sent to your phone (linked to the card). After which the money is safely transferred to a card unknown to you and the scammer disappears - you can no longer reach him or get through to him.
In a similar way, money can be transferred to the phone accounts of scammers (and their accomplices) or to pay for any goods in online stores (see how to pay by card in online stores?).
Alternatively, the fraudster can find a store that allows you to transfer money without SMS confirmation, but now this is very difficult to do. In this case, you will not be asked to provide the code from SMS; it simply will not be required.
In the process of obtaining details, people may suspect something is wrong, so this method is not as common as the next one.
Is it possible to get money back: ways to solve the problem
The main question for victims of scammers on Avito is whether they can get their money back and how to do it?
Everything will depend on how the funds were transferred. If the prepayment was made by transfer to the fraudster’s mobile phone account , then the chance of getting your money back is approximately 1 in 1000. It will be very difficult to prove that it was a transfer as collateral. You can try to get your money back by contacting the police, but this still does not guarantee a return.
It’s another matter if the money transfer was made from a bank card . Having realized that the amount was given to fraudsters, the card owner needs to immediately contact the appropriate bank or call the hotline number. This must also be done if online banking has been hacked and money has been stolen.
The bank will quickly decide to return the funds, although it may refuse this if it considers the victim’s arguments unconvincing.
If the prepayment is transferred in person , then you must definitely require a receipt from the seller. This will help in the future to promptly return the money following the trial through bailiffs.
How to protect yourself from a phantom buyer?
Contacting the bank in such cases is simply useless, since the client himself voluntarily dictated all the card data to strangers, which is a violation of the terms of use of the cards. In addition, law enforcement agencies rarely manage to identify the criminal.
To protect yourself from a phantom seller, you need to remember just a few rules that will protect you as a seller, namely:
- never give out your card number, CVV2/CVC2 codes, expiration date, or secret codes from one-time SMS messages. This is guaranteed to protect you from such “profitable” deals. Remember that only the card number is enough to make a transfer. Details in the article: “Is it possible to steal money if you know the card number?”;
- use the services of banks whose cards are topped up not by card number, but by account number;
- If you still plan to provide the card details to the buyer, make sure that there are no funds on it. For these purposes, you can issue a free debit card from the bank;
- If you only have a credit card, under no circumstances tell the buyer its details and never “shine” them on the Internet. Use virtual cards or see the point described above;
- activate the 3D-Secure service on all your cards, which will not allow you to carry out any financial transactions without entering a one-time confirmation code that will be sent to you via SMS to your mobile number. If, however, fraudsters managed to take possession of funds from your card, responsibility for this can be shifted to a resource on whose website 3D-Secure did not work.
Making successful transactions with buyers on Avito or other sites is not so difficult. The main thing is to remember the above rules and then you will definitely not find yourself in the place of the victim.
What punishment do scammers face?
People who have fallen for scammers on Avito want not only to get their money back, but also to punish the attackers. Is there any punishment for such acts? Of course, since we are talking about breaking the law.
The degree of punishment will depend on the amount of damage caused. If its amount does not exceed 1000 rubles, then the scammers face punishment in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 7.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation:
- a fine of five times the amount stolen;
- arrest for up to 15 days;
- compulsory work lasting up to 50 hours.
According to Part 2 of Art. 7.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation - punishment for theft, including by fraud, in the amount of 1000 to 2500 rubles:
- a fine of up to five times the value of the stolen property;
- arrest for 10-15 days;
- compulsory work with a maximum duration of 120 hours.
For theft in the amount of 2,500 to 5,000 rubles, the punishment is tougher and the offender will be held liable under Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:
- the amount of fines increases to 120,000 rubles;
- the duration of compulsory work is extended to 360 hours;
- assignment of corrective labor for a period of up to 365 days;
- forced labor for up to 2 years;
- arrest up to 4 months;
- restriction or imprisonment for up to 2 years.
More serious punishment is provided for fraudsters who have committed theft in an amount of more than 5,000 rubles or by a group of persons by prior conspiracy:
- the accused is subject to fines in the amount of up to 300,000 rubles;
- compulsory work will last up to 480 hours;
- correctional labor – 2 years;
- forced labor – up to 5 years;
- imprisonment for up to 5 years.
Less frequently, but still, large thefts of money occur through the Avito website. Damage from 250,000 to 1,000,000 rubles is punishable by a fine of up to 500,000 rubles or a prison term of up to 6 years. Punishment for fraudulent actions that resulted in damage from 1,000,000 rubles or deprivation of the victim’s right to housing, as well as for actions as part of a criminal group - up to 10 years in prison.
The smaller the amount of damage caused by the attackers, the more difficult it will be to prove their guilt, since it is more difficult to find “petty” thieves.
Typical case from life
“I have only been involved in selling goods a few times in my life, and those were things that I simply had not used for a long time. This time I decided to sell the bike, which had been covered in dust for many years. Literally half an hour after posting the ad on Avito, I received a call from a person who, it seemed to me, was very interested in buying. He asked me to dictate my card details in order to immediately transfer the funds, and to tell me the code that came to me in an SMS message - to confirm the transfer, as the buyer said. This was just an ideal option for me, especially since I really needed the money at that moment. However, I still didn’t receive the funds. In addition, those 6.5 thousand rubles that were on the card disappeared without a trace.
- Get a Raiffeisenbank credit card “110 days without interest” in 2 minutes with free service and withdrawal of 50 thousand ₽ without commission monthly
- Apply for a free Tinkoff Black debit card and receive profitable cashback from the bank under the standard loyalty program and promotions (5% on purchases over 5,000 in retail chains)
- Apply for a free Polza Home Credit Bank debit card with 10% per annum on the promotional balance
- Apply for a credit card “100 days without interest” from Alfa-Bank and withdraw 50 thousand rubles every month for free
The bank did not help me in any way, saying that I had violated the terms of the agreement and transferred the data to third parties. I did not write a statement to the police, because I simply do not believe that they are involved in such cases. This is how I became a victim without even knowing it. Therefore, be careful and do not pass on card data to strangers, this could end just as disastrously as in the case of me.”
We also recommend that you watch the video, which discusses this type of fraud in detail.
This is not a phone! This is a diamond!
Well, maybe we went too far with the diamond, but that’s for sure that it’s a stone. Often, instead of the promised product, you are sent something completely different from what was described in the ad. And if so, then the price differs from the declared one. So, instead of an iPhone, you will receive an old Nokia, instead of a purebred puppy, you will receive a mongrel with fake documents, instead of an ideal condition, you will receive a battered and worn-out item.
In order not to fall for this bait, ask the seller to photograph the item, record a video with it, call the seller and meet with him in person. Well, of course, discuss all the conditions before making a purchase. If you are in the same city as the seller, do not be lazy and do not be fooled by the “taxi that will bring you”. Come in person, inspect the item, turn it on, check and only then transfer money. And remember: free cheese is only in a mousetrap. A good thing is expensive.
First the chairs - in the evening the money. Don’t let yourself be deceived on Avito
