The scams that target sellers — and which ones escrow makes impossible
Almost every scam guide in Singapore is written for buyers. But if you are the one with the item, you are the one being asked to part with something first — and the tricks aimed at you are a different set. Here is how each one works, what actually stops it, and which of them stop being possible once the money is collected before the parcel moves.
The fake payment screenshot
- How it runs.
- The buyer shows you a “successful transfer” screen at the meet-up, or sends one before you post. You release the item. The money never existed.
- Why it works.
- A screenshot is an image, and images are editable — there are apps whose entire purpose is generating convincing fake transfer receipts, complete with the right bank styling, name, amount and reference. The same trick has been used on restaurants and shops, not just individuals.
- What stops it.
- Never accept a screenshot as proof. Check your own banking app for cleared funds. On a platform with escrow the question does not arise: the payment is collected by the platform before the order is created, so there is nothing for anyone to fake.
Structurally impossible with escrow
The overseas buyer and their “courier”
- How it runs.
- An enthusiastic buyer wants the item shipped to a relative abroad, or says an agent will collect. Then comes a fee — shipping, insurance, customs, a verification charge — which you are asked to pay first and get reimbursed with the purchase.
- Why it works.
- The fee is the whole point; the item is not. Often the “payment confirmation” arrives as a link to a page that mimics your bank and harvests your login and OTP. Singapore police have repeatedly warned about phishing variants involving fake buyers on classifieds platforms.
- What stops it.
- A buyer never needs you to pay anything to receive money. Never click a payment link sent by a buyer, and never enter banking credentials from one. Keep delivery inside the platform, where the label is issued by the platform and paid at checkout.
Structurally impossible with escrow
The overpayment and the refund of the difference
- How it runs.
- “Sorry, I sent S$450 instead of S$45 — can you send back the S$405?” The original transfer looks real, and the request sounds reasonable.
- Why it works.
- The inbound payment is fake, later reversed, or made from a compromised account that will be clawed back. Your refund, though, is genuinely yours and genuinely gone.
- What stops it.
- Never refund a difference by transfer. Tell them to reverse the whole transaction through their own bank. On an escrow platform, refunds move through the platform, not out of your pocket.
Structurally impossible with escrow
The swap-back at the handover
- How it runs.
- At a meet-up the buyer inspects the item, hands it back to “think about it”, and what you take home is a counterfeit or a different item. Common with bags, shoes and electronics.
- Why it works.
- It relies on a few seconds of distraction and on you not examining something you already know intimately.
- What stops it.
- Photograph identifying detail — serials, tags, wear marks — before any handover, and keep possession of the item until payment has cleared in your own account. Shipping with a tracked label removes the handover entirely, which removes the trick.
Reduced by escrow — still needs care
The item-never-arrived claim
- How it runs.
- A genuine sale, a genuine buyer, and then a claim that nothing turned up — or that it turned up damaged.
- Why it works.
- Sometimes it is a real courier failure and sometimes it is not, and without evidence the two are indistinguishable.
- What stops it.
- This is the one escrow does not solve on its own — but tracking does. Always ship with a tracked label rather than a plain post, photograph the item and the sealed parcel before dispatch, and describe flaws honestly in the listing. On Tela, the tracking is attached to the order automatically and the chat history and photos are what a dispute is decided on.
Reduced by escrow — still needs care
Six rules that work on any platform
- 1Confirm money in your own banking app, never in a screenshot someone sends you.
- 2Never pay a fee to receive a payment. There is no legitimate version of this.
- 3Never click a payment or delivery link sent by a buyer, and never enter banking credentials or an OTP from one.
- 4Do not refund a difference. Ask for the whole transaction to be reversed by their bank.
- 5Keep the conversation, the payment and the delivery on the platform — that is where the evidence lives.
- 6Photograph what you send: the item, its identifying marks, and the sealed parcel.
Singapore-specific advisories and the current scam patterns are published on ScamAlert by the National Crime Prevention Council. Report incidents to the Singapore Police Force.
How Tela is built around this
Buyers pay in-app and the money is held in escrow before the order reaches you, so you are never shipping against a promise. Sellers verify once with Singpass, which is what makes an unknown seller worth paying up front — and what makes a scammer's account expensive to replace. Delivery is a prepaid tracked label issued by the platform, so no buyer has a reason to send you a payment link or a courier. Chat warns against and blocks off-platform payment, because that is where the protection ends. Earnings release 48 hours after delivery, or as soon as the buyer confirms.
What that leaves you responsible for is the honest part of the job: describe the item accurately, photograph the flaws, and post it promptly. See how selling works.
Questions
How do I check a PayNow transfer is real?
Only ever from your own banking app. A screenshot proves nothing — free tools and dedicated fake-payment apps can change the name, amount, date and reference in seconds, and the result is indistinguishable from a real receipt. Open your own account, confirm the money has actually landed, and only then hand over or post the item.
A buyer says their courier will collect and asks me to pay the shipping first. Is that a scam?
Yes, effectively always. The pattern is an out-of-town or overseas “buyer” who insists on their own agent, then sends a link or an invoice for a fee you are supposed to pay up front and claim back. The link is usually a phishing page for your banking credentials. A genuine buyer never needs you to pay anything to receive their money.
What is the overpayment scam?
The “buyer” claims to have accidentally transferred more than the price and asks you to refund the difference. The original transfer is fake, reversed, or made from a stolen account — so your refund is real money going out against money that was never really in. Never refund a difference; ask them to reverse the whole thing through their bank.
Does escrow stop every seller scam?
It removes the whole payment-fraud category, which is most of it: on Tela the money is collected and held before the order reaches you, so there is nothing to fake and nothing to reverse by screenshot. It does not remove the need to describe items accurately and post them promptly — a buyer can still raise a genuine dispute, and that is decided on the evidence, including your tracking and your photos.
Why do scammers always try to move the conversation off the app?
Because everything that protects you lives on the platform: the payment record, the chat history, the tracking, and the ability to intervene. Off-platform, a dispute is your word against theirs. Tela’s chat warns against and blocks off-platform payment for exactly this reason, and paying outside the app voids Buyer Protection.
I have been scammed. What do I do?
Report it to the police at police.gov.sg or via the ScamShield helpline, and report the account to the platform so it can be removed. Keep every screenshot, the chat, the listing and any transfer reference — a report without evidence is much harder to act on.