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    FIN-CSIRT / Practical lesson

    Check the seller before buying

    Assess the offer, terms and payment method before sending money.

    Users of financial servicesAbout 5 minutes of reading + 3 questions
    Start with the example Need to act now?

    What you will learn

    • Check a seller’s identity and other buyers’ experiences.
    • Understand what HTTPS and buyer protection actually mean.
    • Keep the information needed to report a problem.

    Practice example

    Is a discount enough reason to pay?

    An advert for a new phone
    Is a discount enough reason to pay?

    A phone costs much less than elsewhere. The seller asks you to leave the platform and immediately transfer money to an account in a private message.

    Fictional training example.
    Show the example explanation
    An unusually low price
    The price is a reason to check further; it is not proof of fraud by itself.
    Leaving the platform
    Check whether you would lose available buyer protection or a purchase record.
    Urgent payment
    Establish the seller’s identity and delivery terms before paying.

    What does a shopping scam look like?

    A seller advertises goods, accepts payment and does not deliver. The advert may appear on social media, a marketplace or a separate website. Buyers may lose money and expose information entered during checkout.

    A delayed parcel alone does not prove fraud. Assess the delay alongside the agreed delivery date, the seller’s behaviour and details you can verify.

    Check the seller and offer

    • Establish who is selling the goods and whether you can confirm their contact details.
    • Compare the price and description with other offers. An unusually low price needs further checking.
    • Look for experiences beyond the advert itself. Repeated comments or a high rating are not sufficient proof of reliability.
    • Check delivery, return and complaint terms before deciding.

    Images may have been copied from another seller. That can be a warning sign, but a photograph alone does not prove fraud.

    Understand the payment method

    HTTPS means the connection is encrypted; it does not confirm that a seller is trustworthy. A fake shop can also use HTTPS. Keep the advert and agreed terms, and check the address using our fake-site and QR-code guide.

    A card payment or service such as PayPal may provide a dispute process or buyer protection, depending on the transaction and provider’s terms. Check the current rules through the provider’s official support for your account and country; reimbursement is not guaranteed.

    If a seller asks you to pay outside the platform, check what changes for protection and purchase records. If your bank offers a virtual card, check its intended use, limits and available restrictions. A card does not replace checking the seller.

    If goods have not arrived or you suspect a scam

    For an ordinary delay, check the agreed delivery date and contact the seller or platform support. If the seller disappears, you discover a fake website or suspect exposed card details, do not wait for another message.

    1. Contact your bank or payment service through an official channel and ask what protective measures and dispute options are available.
    2. Keep the advert, website address, messages, purchase date and payment receipt.
    3. Report the dispute or suspicious profile through the platform’s official process. Do not send money to supposedly unlock delivery.
    4. If you reused a password elsewhere, follow the account protection steps. You can report a cyber incident to FIN-CSIRT, with urgent contact to your bank first when money or a card is at risk.

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    An unfamiliar shop has an HTTPS address and a very low price. What does that tell you?

    Why does this matter? HTTPS protects data in transit to a website, but a fake shop can also use an encrypted connection. The problem is mistaking transmission protection for proof that a seller will deliver goods or refund money.

    1. The seller has been verified as trustworthy.

      HTTPS does not verify the seller’s business identity. Your information can reach a scammer over an encrypted connection if you have not checked who operates the shop.

    2. Reimbursement is guaranteed.

      Encryption does not guarantee reimbursement. Refund rights or options depend on the purchase, payment method and applicable terms, not the HTTPS indicator.

    3. The connection is encrypted; the seller and terms still need checking.Correct answer

      Connection security and seller trustworthiness are different things. Before paying, you therefore check the seller, purchase terms and payment protection separately.

    A seller asks for payment outside the platform for an extra discount. What do you check first?

    Why does this matter? Paying outside the platform can change the purchase record and buyer-protection terms. A discount encourages acceptance before you understand what support you might lose in a dispute.

    1. The seller, payment recipient and whether buyer protection covers that method.Correct answer

      Changing the payment method can change available protection. Checking these terms establishes whether the platform or service could help with the proposed transaction at all.

    2. Only how much I am saving.

      A discount is not enough to assess the risk. The saving only makes sense once you understand the risk of losing both the goods and protection you expected.

    3. Whether the message contains enough product photographs.

      Photographs may be copied and do not explain payment terms. Good pictures show a product, but do not establish who will receive the money or whether they will send the goods.

    The seller disappeared after payment and you suspect a scam. What do you do?

    Why does this matter? When a seller disappears, correspondence and payment records provide evidence of the agreement and transfer. An extra fee does not establish that goods will arrive and can turn one loss into several payments.

    1. Wait without saving the messages.

      Delay and losing records make follow-up harder. Without the listing and agreement, it is harder to explain what was promised, who was paid and when the problem arose.

    2. Contact my bank or payment service and keep the advert, messages and payment receipt.Correct answer

      Prompt reporting and records support checks on available action, without guaranteeing a refund. This connects your concern to verifiable details so the relevant service can assess available action.

    3. Pay a new fee to someone promising delivery.

      A further payment may increase the loss. A delivery promise does not become more reliable simply because the sender asks for more money to fulfil it.

    No registration. Your answers are not sent; the result is just for you.

    Remember

    Check the seller, terms and payment method. Keep the agreement before buying.

    Check a financial offer

    References

    Sources and further reading

    For users in Serbia, the primary references are the Serbian National CERT warning about online-marketplace fraud and National Bank of Serbia guidance on online card use. FTC online-shopping guidance and PayPal buyer-protection rules supplement the checks, but rights and procedures depend on the country, bank, platform and transaction.

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