The tremendous mistake you should not make when shopping at Wallapop

wallapop customer service

Wallapop is the queen of applications in Spain within the second-hand market. Currently the application has the largest catalog of products together with Milanuncios and Vibbo in second stay. By its nature, it is also one of the most used by scammers and con artists. Beyond the cases that many users have reported in several of our articles, there is a common mistake that most often make and that it is essential to know to avoid falling into this type of tricks, an error that we will explain below.

Never leave the app to make payments or follow the conversation

We can give dozens, and even hundreds of tips to avoid falling into the hands of a scammer or con man who roams our area. The most important, however, is to always keep the conversation going within Wallapop.

nigerian wallapop scam

Images taken from Forocoches.

The reason for this is simple: the Wallapop team will be able to know the content of the messages in case of complaint or report to the user or advertisement in question. To this is added that the application has a series of filters that alarm the support team when certain words are used. The other issue has to do with the very nature of the scams forged around Wallapop.

Scams are often carried out using fake pages, fraudulent emails, or insecure payment methods , such as PayPal's Friends, Family, and Acquaintances payment option. The safest option is to resort to WallaPay, Wallapop's payment service, and to exchanges in person, as long as the place named is a place frequented by people.

If you receive an email from DHL, PayPal or [insert bank name], be suspicious

In some of the articles that we have previously linked, dozens of users have mentioned a very similar way of execution in all cases. This roadmap follows an identical scheme in most cases.

First, the user in question contacts us through the application with a message 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.

If we decide to continue with the transaction, the user will urge us to follow the conversation through other means, such as WhatsApp or Telegram. From this point on, we will be sent a series of emails from DHL, PayPal, Western Union or any international bank that will urge us to deposit a certain amount of money into a foreign bank account to "unblock the transfer."

scams scams wallapop 2020

Obviously, the content of these emails is false: no service requires a payment to unblock an international transaction . Just take a look at the email domain (@ paypal.com, @ dhl.com, @ bbva.com etc.) to realize that it does not belong to the original domain of the services it refers to.

I have a relative in Nigeria and I am willing to pay you an additional 50 euros

Formerly known as the Nigerian King Scam. Now this type of scam has varied in content, but not in form.

By way of summary, the user will assure us with a fairly poor level of Spanish that they are willing to pay an amount between 50 and 100 euros for shipping the product to a city in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Italy or any other country outside of the Spanish jurisdiction.

The process from this point on is similar to the one we just described: we will receive a series of emails that will prompt us to pay a certain amount to unlock the transfer.

Pay me for Neosurf cards

A new type of scam that has been reported in networks for only a few months. This time the ruse is forged again around a series of emails that come from DHL. One of the requirements that are mentioned precisely in the content of these emails is that we must pay an amount between 100 and 200 euros through NeoSurf cards to "unlock the money transfer."

The content of the emails usually contains the following message:

We inform you that we have registered your envelope DD-301763276-9718 issued in your name for an amount of € 295 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: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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 we can see from the email address ( [email protected]) , the sender does not belong to any of DHL's active domains. We can confirm, therefore, that we are facing a scam attempt .

False bills, fraudulent account deposits ...

The last type of scam is not forged by bots, but by users with their own will to act. They are usually done in person, at least in the first case. Therefore, it is best to carry out the transaction near an ATM where we can enter the agreed amount to verify the authenticity of the tickets.

fake money euros

The second case, relatively rare but quite effective, is based on making a false deposit on account through an empty envelope or through a forged receipt. The way to avoid both practices is simple: wait at least four or five days for the amounts to be confirmed in your bank account . Otherwise, they could disappear as soon as the entity confirms that there is no real income or transfer.