More and more people, including Nigerians, are converting social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter to an efficient online marketplace where they buy and sell a wide range of products, from fashion and beauty products to billable services like decors and repairs.
While most of these Instagram businesses are legit and trustworthy, there are some dishonest people who have taken advantage of people’s trust in the app to conduct illicit transactions and scam people.
Here are 5 tips to help you identify a scam Instagram vendor and avoid falling a victim:
1. Check the age of the account
Scroll down to the very first post and check the date it was made. Most scam Instagram pages do not last and these vendors are quick to set up a new account as soon as the old one gets busted and taken down.
2. Check comments on individual posts
Having no comments on the posts is a major red flag. If they are conducting a legit business, surely there must be some interaction between the vendor and previous or potential customers. Maybe people complaining about a delay in delivery or asking about the availability of the advertised product, or trying to negotiate the price. Also, apply extra caution here as fraudulent vendors will often delete unfavourable comments and leave only positive ones or they can even add fake comments themselves.
3. Check customer reviews
The nature of legit Instagram vendors is to post customer reviews. If you see no reviews on the seller’s page, this is another hint that the vendor might be fake. Again, some dishonest vendors will go the extra length of manufacturing fake reviews so always cross-check. If anything seems off, stay away.
4. Enquire from mutual followers
Check the page to see if there are some of your friends that are also following it. Ask them about the page and if they have bought anything from them before.
5. Perform a test buy
Another wise decision is to buy a small product first from an Instagram vendor you haven’t used before and test their reliability. If they deliver, then you can go ahead and buy whatever you want to buy. That way, if they are to be a scam, you will only be losing a small amount of money.
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Have you bought anything from an Instagram vendor before? Or have you ever been scammed by a vendor on Instagram? Share your experience in the comment section.
