Vibbo is one of the largest trading applications in Spain together with Milanuncios and Wallapop. Although the platform fights unstoppably against the cases of scams and scams that are seen daily on this type of page, the truth is that today the number of cases is increasing. We could see it in this other article where more than a hundred users have made public their own testimonies about Wallapop and Vibbo. Leaving aside the most frequent cases of deception, there is a fairly common mistake that the vast majority of people usually make on second-hand platforms, an error that we will discuss below.
Don't even think about leaving the Vibbo chat to continue with the sale
So is. If there is something that most scams have in common, it is that they are forged around alternative channels to the official ones. Most scammers will try to direct the conversation towards other channels of contact , such as WhatsApp, Telegram or through an email address. It is also quite common to propose alternative forms of payments, such as DHL cash on delivery, sending money through Western Union or buying NeoSurf cards.
The reason? Vibbo's team loses absolute control of the conversations. Many of these applications have filters that allow detecting anomalous behavior. To this must be added that the company is obliged to facilitate the conversations of the allegedly responsible in case of raising the complaint to a court of Justice.
This is how the service itself gives a glimpse of it on its page for user assistance. Specifically, Vibbo specifies the following:
“We recommend that you file a complaint as soon as possible with the technological crime units of the police or the civil guard. These organizations will contact us and we will provide them with all the information so that they can continue with the investigation. "
Therefore, from tuexperto.com we can only recommend maintaining the flow of the conversation within the integrated chat of the application , in addition to applying logic when finalizing the transaction. Next we will see several cases that users have reported in some of our articles.
Flee from NeoSurf card payments
For some time now, dozens of users have been reporting a new case of scam based on NeoSurf cards, a type of currency that is used to shop remotely online, generally between different countries. Protecting themselves in the security of these cards, the robbers will urge us to pay a certain amount to unlock the bank transfer that they have supposedly made to our account. The way to proceed in all cases is the same.
To summarize, the scammer will assure us that they have made the transfer to the number that we have previously provided. Then, we will be sent an alleged email from the scammer's bank ensuring that we will have to pay an amount that usually ranges between 200 and 300 euros to unblock said transfer. The mail content is usually similar to this:
We inform you that we have registered your envelope *********** issued in your name for an amount of € 200 in one of our offices and that we are waiting for the insurance costs for your shipment.
However, please confirm your shipping address below:
- Address:
Detail of the amount to send to your address
- Payment amount: € 95.00 EUR
- Insurance costs: € 200.00 EUR
Confirmed: You must receive the sum of € 295.00 EUR
You must pay an insurance fee of € 200.00 EUR. Go to the nearest tobacco shop, buy two (02) € 100.00 EUR NEOSURF refills to send us the code through our following email address:: [email protected].
As you may have imagined, the content of the email is totally false. No bank asks its clients to deposit an amount of money as insurance. Much less this amount is passed on to third parties, as the email suggests.
And sending money through DHL money order
Another especially popular method in the last months of 2019 and 2020 uses the DHL money order that allows you to send money remotely. The process is practically identical to that of NeoSurf cards: the scammer will ask us to accept the DHL payment method to receive the amount in cash through the cash on delivery service . Just a few hours later we will receive an email similar to the following:
Hello sir,
I confirm the purchase of your item, I have already seen the photos on the site, for this purpose I will send you the cash in an envelope through the DHL courier service to your address and once I have received the money. The DHL service will then proceed to collect it from your home at our insurance costs. Please give me this information below so that I can deposit the envelope:
- Name and surname:
- Postal address:
- Email address:
- Firm price:
- Phone number:
Best regards.
We will subsequently receive another email supposedly from DHL to force us to pay an amount to secure the transfer . The company itself has already confirmed that it is a case of brand identity theft through its website.
Other cases: Nigerian scam, PayPal Friend, counterfeit banknotes
There is a whole string of practices that will try to get the money and the product offered for sale. The best known is the Nigerian scam, a well-known practice on the Internet that will try to lead us back to alternative payment methods.
We can identify it if the buyer lives in Nigeria, United Kingdom, France or any other country other than Spain . As a general rule, the scammer will reward us with an additional 50 or 100 euros "for the inconvenience and shipping costs."
Another no less known scam consists of resorting to the PayPal payment option Friends, family and acquaintances. By not having reimbursement insurance, the amount will not return to us even if we report the case to the company's service.
The last one has to do with the use of counterfeit bills in street transactions. The only way to detect this fraud is to go to an ATM before closing the sale , preferably in a crowded place with a nearby police station.
