Avoid the most common scam on Wallapop: “You’re out of luck, kid”
Buying and selling on second-hand sites like Wallapop has become a favorite way for many people to purchase all sorts of items or get rid of things they no longer use. Thus, this practice can also become a nightmare due to dozens of profiles that try to scam other users.
This is exactly what happened to user X (formerly Twitter) @HuhConH, but he managed to avoid being scammed. As he says in his social media feed, at first everything happened in the most ordinary way: he put the product up for sale, another person became interested and bought it. The seller sends the package in accordance with Wallapop’s rules, and the buyer receives it within a few days.
I will tell you how they tried to deceive me when selling on Wallapop using a scam that is very common there. I will also explain how to avoid this.
The other day I put up for sale a single tail that I no longer use on my bike. The product in question was literally flawless.
— Ha (@HuhConH) May 13, 2024
The scam occurs later when the buyer and scammer sends you a message saying that you have received an item that is not what was originally promised and that it is in worse condition than advertised. He even attaches photos showing the damage and demanding compensation.
The trick here is that the photos are not real. They match another old and worn item. “You were out of luck when you tried to trick me, kid,” the tweeter warns. “I don’t know where the fraud is when I’m the buyer and the injured party,” his interlocutor replies in a chat on the purchase and sale platform, but he fails to confuse the advertiser. Dude, now you’re going to send me your broken piece of crap and keep mine for yourself. Don’t worry, this won’t happen and you will have to spare 15 euros,” he tells him and adds that he has a video of the packaging and delivery.
How to Avoid Scams
The scammer then blocked the seller’s calls and messages to prevent him from contacting him. Although he managed to get back 15 euros because the buyer finally withdrew the incident he opened on Wallapop, he wanted to give some tips to prevent this type of scam, which is “very common.”
First of all, record the entire process of packing and shipping the goods and do not make deals with new profiles or with bad ratings. “If a dispute is opened, consider it carefully, and if in doubt, never accept or present evidence,” he points out. “Oh, and ask for a phone number before you send anything, in case you have to shit their bastard by complaining about fraud,” he concludes.