Despite online shopping being safe for both consumers and service providers, there are those out there who take advantage of the trust given by people out there to make a quick buck.
Taking to Twitter, @999Malaysia points out that scammers are tricking victims by using the ‘floating’ feature of Interbank Giro (IBG) when making transactions.
The tweet writes, “If you receive a receipt stating ‘Accepted‘, be wary as the money is not transferred to your banking account yet. Scammers would set the date of the transfer at a different time, and cancel the transaction when it is convenient.”
If the money has actually been transferred from the sender’s account, then the receipt would be listed as “successful“.
@999Malaysia adds that scammers often trick sellers into sending their products without paying for them through the usage of the IBG transfer system.
Over 20.3k people retweeted this piece of info, and many others shared their experience on the matter, advising how to avoid these scams, with most insisting on instant transfer and not IBG.
One netizen shared an image of a scammer who tried to trick him by saying that the money has been transferred to his account.
We urge sellers out there, especially those without ample experience with online banking to be extra careful of transactions made online. Though not all are lying and conniving individuals, those who take advantage of other people’s trust have given online shopping a bad name.
Also read: M’sian Warns Online Shoppers After She Got Cheated by Scam Website Selling “Stock Clearance” Shoes