It is becoming rampant for scammers & fraudsters to come online & play on people's trust & intelligence!!

Sadly, nairaland is not excluded from the grip of these terrible people.
However, no matter how smart these fraudsters are, you can be smarter.

Here are some few steps you can take to avoid being scammed on Nairaland.

IN VIEW OF THIS AND OTHER
SCAMS, I WILL ADVISE
NAIRALANDERS TO REPORT
SCAMS IMMEDIATELY SO THAT
NEW PEOPLE WILL NOT FALL
FOR IT.

PLEASE, MY LAST
ADVISE IS THIS, BEFORE YOU
BUY ANYTHING OR DO ANY
TRANSACTION WITH A
NAIRALANDER, JUST DO THE
FOLLOWING;

1) FIRST CHECK THE USER’S
PROFILE, HIS COMMENTS AND
HIS TOPICS


2) BE OBSERVANT OF THE DATE
HIS PROFILE WAS CREATED.
THIS ONE IS MOST IMPORTANT
AND VERY SERIOUS. MOST
SCAM’S (90%) ON NAIRALAND,
ARE OPERATED BY PEEPS WITH
NEW ID’S... I FOUND THIS OUT
AFTER A DEEP RESEARCH.
PLEASE REMEMBER THIS
WARNING
---
“NEVER DEAL WITH
A NAIRALANDER WHO HAS NOT
BEEN ON THE FORUM FOR UP
TO A YEAR!

---
NEVER SEND
MONEY TO THE PERSON UNLESS
YOU ARE SEEING HIM FACE TO
FACE!

BEFORE YOU DEAL
WITH A NAIRALANDER, JUST
CLICK ON THE PERSONS
PROFILE... EVERYTHING ABOUT
HIM OR HER WILL POP OUT!”


3) NO MATTER HOW GOOD A DEAL IS, I WILL ADVISE
YOU TO RUN AWAY FROM A
DEAL ONCE IT IS TOO GOOD TO
BE TRUE. IF A NAIRALANDER
OR ANY ONLINE CRIMINAL
WANTS TO SELL ANYTHING TO
YOU, AND THE AMOUNT IS
RIDICULOUSLY SMALL
COMPARED TO WHAT OTHERS
SELL; IT IS PROBABLY A SCAM...
JUST RUN AWAY! I WONDER
HOW SOMEONE WILL TELL YOU
THAT HE IS SELLING A BENTLEY
2012 FOR 800K AND YOU DIDNT
CHANGE YOUR NAME TO USAIN
BOLT! CHECK THE PRICE RANGE
OF SAME CAR WITH OTHER DEALERS
ONLINE.

4)BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL OF DEALERS WHO REFUSE TO PUT ANY ADDRESS ON THEIR POST, DEALERS WITH NO PRICE TAG TO THEIR CARS & LASTLY DEALERS WHO REFUSE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTION YOU ASK ON THE THREAD. IF A DEALER IS SINCERE, HE WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS, NOT CALL ME OR E-mail.


5) THIS ONE IS PROBABLY THE
MOST IMPORTANT... BEFORE
YOU BUY ANYTHING ONLINE OR
BEFORE YOU DEAL WITH A
NAIRALANDER, GOOGLE HIS
NAME, DETAILS AND INFO HE
OR SHE SENT YOU.
BEFORE
GOOGLING, MAKE SURE THAT
YOU ATTACH “SCAM”, “FRAUD”
OR “CRIMINAL” TO HIS OR HER
NAME AS THE KEYWORDS.

DONT JUST TYPE ONLY THE
DEALERS NAME E.G SANGO009
OR ABEL AKAMU, NO. THAT’S
WRONG. INSTEAD TYPE “ABEL
AKAMU SCAM OR
FRAUD” OR THE PERSON’S
USERNAME ON NAIRALAND
WITH THE KEYWORDS ALSO..
E.G “Sango009 SCAM OR
FRAUD”. YOU WILL SUPRISED
AT WHAT GOOGLE WILL GIVE
YOU.


THIS PARTICULAR
PROCEDURE HAS SAVED ME
FROM SO MANY SCAMS BEFORE.
ALTHOUGH IF THE GUY IS
A NEWBIE, GOOGLE MAY NOT GIVE U ANY HITS BUT JUST
CHECK HIS PROFILE ON
NAIRALAND IF HE IS NEW!



THE
ONLY PROBLEM HERE IS THAT
MOST OF THEM WHEN
DISCOVERED WILL CREATE
NEW PROFILES OR MONIKERS...
LOLS. BUT THERE IS A WAY TO
CATCH THEM! CHECK THEIR
PROFILES.... YOU WILL BE
SUPRISED IT WAS CREATED IN
WITHIN THE PAST WEEK, DAYS
OR EVEN MINUTES! AGAIN,
SCAMMERS LEAVE CRUMBS
EVERYWHERE.

Be VIgilant guys, Don't just read & pass by. Use the Report button so that the Moderators can look into it.
You might be saving your family members by using the REPORT button.

May we not loose our hard earned cash o, Amen!!

Thanks my brother, God bless you for this advice, note that it's also helpful on other forums: Once again God bless you IJN

angeljoy: Thanks my brother, God bless you for this advice, note that it's also helpful on other forums: Once again God bless you IJN

Amen sir.

Also note please!!!!

December is coming soon, beware of kidnappers!!

A lot of them use this same procedures to kidnap people!

If you call them that you want to buy the car, if they see you are unwilling to pay upfront, they lure you to their "den" and hold you for ransom.
And guess how much the ransom will be?
Exactly the amount you are willing to pay for the vehicle.

1. Don't trust any dealer who does not have a valid address.
Even though not all sellers have a car mart, but pls ensure You both agree to a location that you the buyer is comfortable with.

2. Don't go meet a car dealer in secluded places or his house.

3. Never Walk Alone!

4. Don't go along with cash.
Probably just have some little money to buy fuel for test drive & minor things like paying for engine scans!

5. Don't be too hasty in sealing a deal, cross-check all papers before paying.
Customs Paper especially, and in case of a pre-owned car, ensure you meet whoever owned the car previously and ask for genuine proof tying him/her to the car!!

Be vigilant, be smart, be saved!!

I agree with everything except number two. A legit businessman could be a new member of any forum or social network. What you have said in summary is, a complete personality check should be done before parting with cash. One could even open a thread to inquire about a person or business. Thanks OP. I hope a lot of people get to see this.

Makes a lot of sense. A lot of nairalanders are falling victim to scammers on a regular basis. The car sellers are also vulnerable to attacks and robbery. One of them posted about how he was attacked at gunpoint by a prospective buyer from nairaland. I believe the average Nigerian should be suspicious and vigilant by nature.