Sevastopol Police warns: distance swindlers «sell» non -existent goods

How does this work?

False sales are placed on the sale of a car, furniture, clothes or any other goods on a trading online site on favorable terms, for example, at a price below the market. When a person writes to them with questions about the product, they offer to switch to communication outside the trading platform to popular messengers (WhatsApp (belongs to META, which is recognized in Russia with an extremist organization and its activities are prohibited), Telegram, Viber and others). During the dialogue, the attackers convince the citizen of the benefit of this purchase, and then for some reasons they ask to transfer money to a personal bank account without using the “safe transaction” function. So the buyer transfers the payment of the goods to the specified account, and the seller ceases to get in touch.

It is important to know:

Real online salesmen of goods do not ask to switch to communication outside the trading platform.

Payment of goods without using the “safe transaction” function can lead to loss of money.

A profitable offer is not always safe for your savings. Make sure of the reality of the goods if its price is lower than the market.

Remember: Your vigilance is the best protection against deception. Do not believe in profitable offers until you personally see the existence of goods. Use the “safe transaction” function and trust only trusted sellers.

Source: press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Sevastopol