I listed a SIlverback Sola 2 on OLX in October 2014, and within an hour received a call from a man with a foreign (read: Nigerian) accent. I obviously took it for a scam, but played along never the less. Had to drop a relative at Lanseria, (I'm from Rustenburg) so sommer arranged the 'collection' for the same time. Arranged with the SAPS office at Lanseria before hand, and they actually caught the guy, or his driver at least. What happened at the end of the day? Nothing, driver was not arrested as there were no evidence that he was responsible for defrauding anyone, although he was a Zimbabwean national claiming to do collections for the scammer on a regular basis. And seeing that the goods wasn't handed over it was also difficult to open a case of 'attempted theft' or 'attempted fraud'. Oh yes, and ABSA were so kind to inform me that someone tried paying me with a stolen cheque, thanks for the heads up ABSA! The best part is the scammers number was still active for a couple of days (maybe still?) afterwards, as we occasionally had a pleasant chat: me pointing out how stupid he is, and him threatening me (even after I told him the cops are involved). A few lessons picked up over the years: Genuine buyers will ask about on the condition, specs, age etc.Avoid buyers with 'foreign' accents and/or poor spelling/grammer (could be a nigerian, or just a really dumb person, or both, but you should avoid them just the same).Ask for emailed proof of payment, it has a reference number that can be verified, SMS confirmation can easily be spoofed.Check if the buyer/seller has a facebook or whatsapp profile.Meet only in a safe place, specially when buying something cash.If money was deposited and reflecting in your account, but not available it's a cheque and it WILL bounce. No individuals uses cheques anymore, except fraudsters.
