We know you might have some concerns over making a safe trade, so here are tips to make sure you and your buyer walk away happy:

Typical fraudulent buyer behaviour

• The buyer insists on using a cheque, PayFast, PayPal, Western Union or MoneyGram
• The buyer demands you send the item before they pay for it
• The buyer asks for personal information like your ID, bank details, your email address, your debit/credit card number
• The buyer is keen to pay the asking price immediately, or even overpay and sometimes in a foreign currency. When it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• The buyer is from a foreign country or wants to buy the item for a relative who is abroad
• The buyer will ask to send a driver to collect an item without viewing it. They often immediately reverse the EFT or send a fake proof of payment via SMS
• Stick to the location agreed upon as much as possible because scammers like to take you to other unknown locations after the initial meeting

Meeting a buyer

• Always meet in person. We’d recommend trading locally for safe deals.
• A buyer who offers you more money to ship your item to them, is usually a scammer, and you can report them to us
• Try to meet in a public place like a shopping mall or petrol station. Whether you’re meeting in a public place or even at your home, make sure you have a friend or family member with you

Making the exchange

• As far as possible, only get paid in cash for your item
• If you must accept a bank transfer, make sure you call your bank to check that the funds have cleared before handing over the item
• Never accept a proof of payment SMS or email – these are very easy to fake.
• We aren’t in any position to handle or facilitate any exchange of money. So, please, be careful when handing over payment.

If you have any questions, you’re welcome to contact us

Safety is everything to us. And here’s how to experience a safe transaction…

If you’re buying

• This might seem simple, but it can’t be said enough – always meet the seller in person in a public place, like at a mall or a coffee shop
• Only hand over the money once you’re happy with what you’re buying
• Whatever you do, don’t buy before you try– always examine the item before paying
• And please, be careful

Even if the deal seems too good to say no to, and the seller isn’t in your city – you still need to say no. It’s better and quicker to rather find a seller in your city. There are loads out there, you just need to find them.

We’re all about connecting buyers and sellers. We’re actually only about connecting buyers and sellers. We aren’t in any position to handle or facilitate any exchange of money. So, please, be careful when handing over payment.

And if the seller doesn’t live in your city, try finding another seller close by. It’s safer and easier.

If you still have questions, please contact us

Although we make sure we’re at the cutting edge of innovation when it comes to preventing fraud thanks to dedicated teams of fraud specialist and moderators, your safety is just as much our responsibility as it is yours. So, here are tips for spotting fraud for buyers and sellers.

You know the seller is suspicious if:

• We say it because it’s true – if it appears too good to be true, it probably is. Especially if it’s advertised at a suspiciously low price
• The seller wants payment before sending you the item. They’ll often insist that you can pay the balance when collecting the item, or refund your money should you be unhappy with the item
• The seller can’t meet you in a public place but wants to deliver the item personally
• The seller asks for personal information like your ID number, bank details, your email address, or your debit/credit card number
• If the seller wants to take you off the Adstoreug chat by saying “email me” or “call me on this number”
• Sellers who pretend to be auctioneers with vehicles priced at a fraction of the market value. The seller will insist on a deposit to secure the vehicle

You know the buyer is suspicious if:

• The buyer insists on using a cheque, PayFast, PayPal, Western Union or MoneyGram
• The buyer demands you send the itembefore they pay for it
• The seller asks for personal informationlike your ID, bank details, your email address, your debit/credit card number
• The buyer is from a foreign country or wants to buy the item for a relative who is abroad
• The buyer will ask to send a driver to collectan item without viewing it. They often immediately reverse the EFT or send a fake proof of payment via SMS

We take your safety very seriously, and so there are several ways you can report fraud.

• If you suspect an ad, please tap on the Report this ad at the bottom of the ad
• If you suspect a user, please open their profile, tap on the three dots in top right corner and tap on User report
• If you have been a victim – and we sincerely hope you weren’t – please contact us as soon as you can. You can also call our Fraud Hotline on 25726004744, 8am – 4pm Monday to Friday (excluding Public Holidays) to report anything suspicious.

For more safety tips keep an eye out for #staysharp content on social media. 

I have been a victim of fraud on! What does AdStoreug do in the case of fraud?

Your safety is just as important to us as it is to you. Although we’re only a platform that facilitates transactions between people, we have dedicated teams of fraud specialists and moderators working hard every day to prevent fraud on our platform. Unfortunately, a few scams make it through our safeguards. In those situations, we actively work with the police to help solve cases.

So, if you have experienced fraud, please follow these steps:

1. Report the scammer or the ad to us on the app, website or on our fraud hotline 256726004744. We will investigate it straight away.
2. Open a case with your local police.
3. Ask them to subpoena us so that we can release any information we have on the scammer to them that could help the case, e.g. IP addresses, login details, etc Ultimately payment, accepting the item and all other related issues are up to the buyer and seller, and their agreement. That’s why it’s best that you know how to protect yourself when buying or selling online – it’s just the smart thing to do.

Read our tips on trading safely always to remain safe.