My Neighborhood Watch #67 - Reporting Events Around us

image from Pixabay, edited on pixellap

Don't be upset if you bought something with payment on transfer and the seller refused to let you go even though you've been debited; sometimes it is because of their experience. The rate of fake transfers is alarming. We need to be careful when dealing with people because some people have no conscience and feel no guilt for their actions. I'm reporting this event to warn everyone about the recent increase in scams or fake transactions in my environment. Am reporting my neighborhood watch from Lagos State, Nigeria.

Some of the stories might seem funny to you until when they happen to you. Some of the common ones are buying a New phone and then ending up with fufu when you open it at home. Have you ever been scammed? My first experience was strange as I easily fell victim to scammers. It was someone I trusted as a loyal customer because he frequently made purchases from us. It was a bad experience but I've learned a lot from that experience.

As I said, scamming can happen with different strategies, like selling fake products and engaging in fake transactions. This is a major issue we face here. Everyone has his or her own story or experience of being scammed. But one thing is never to repeat 1 mistake twice; I lost 2 bags of rice worth 58,000 to a scam, and if I wasn't careful, the same thing would have happened again just recently.

As we approach the end of the year, people are planning how to get their food supplies, but the high cost of living exacerbates the prevalence of scams in society. Just recently, a customer came to our shop to buy 2 bags of rice. She made a payment to my boss's account, but my boss didn't confirm the payment. After waiting for 10 minutes, it still wasn't confirmed.

The 3 bags of rice she wanted

I became suspicious because she seemed in a hurry, insisting that I take her number and share the receipt. I told her to wait until the payment was confirmed before she could leave. One thing is that you don't have to judge people because someone with bad intentions would try to look good so that they will not suspect them. This one was a mature woman, someone I can call my mother. To cut the story short, there was no transfer, and after waiting for 20 minutes, she told me she wanted to get some other goods in the market, and that's how she disappeared. I tried calling the number she gave me, but it was switched off.

If I had let her leave with the rice, we would have been scammed. The same week, my friend who sells rice beside me also had a similar experience. A well-dressed young man with a criminal mind bought 3 bags of rice with a fake transfer. Thankfully, my friend was vigilant even when the customer insisted that he should give him 1 bag so that when the payment was confirmed, then he could come back for the second bag.

The 3 bags of rice from my friend side

Picture of my friend after the incident

Why am I reporting this? In this hard economy, protect your business and fund as much as you can to avoid losing your hard-earned money or goods to scammers. Be cautious with your transactions. Don't release your goods until you've confirmed the payment, even if the customer offers their number. Remember, they can block you or switch their phone line. Secondly, don't blindly trust customers just because they've been buying from you unless you know how to locate them if something goes wrong. I hope this serves as a warning and advice to others. Stay safe."

I am inviting @richy20,@basil20, and @emishael60 to participate in this contest.

Shot with spark 5pro

Cc;
@xkool24