You've probably seen the post. Someone paid ₦350,000 for a laptop they found on Instagram. The vendor replied fast, sent clear photos, even had reviews. Then the transfer went through, and the account went quiet. A day later, the buyer was blocked on every platform.
Stories like this aren't rare. A 2025 Dubawa investigation into fake "declutter" pages documented buyers who lost ₦350,000 on a laptop, ₦400,000 on a sofa set and ₦100,000 on a couch, all paid by bank transfer, none ever delivered. One of the pages it tracked had changed its username eight times to keep the scheme going.
The good news is that fraud on Nigeria's payment rails is falling. NIBSS reported ₦25.85 billion in digital payment fraud losses in 2025, about half of the ₦52.26 billion recorded in 2024. But e-commerce and internet banking are still the channels hit hardest, and social engineering (talking someone into sending money) is still the most common trick.
So why does this keep happening, and what actually stops it?
The real problem: you pay before you see anything
Most Nigerians don't buy online from big marketplaces. We buy from people. A vendor on Instagram, a WhatsApp catalogue, a declutter group, a friend of a friend. Technext's look at Nigerian shoppers found the reasons are easy to understand: you can chat and negotiate, ask for a different colour or size, and sometimes get same-day delivery.
That personal touch is also the weak spot. The deal almost always ends the same way: "Send to this account and I'll dispatch."
Once you transfer, you have nothing left to bargain with. If the item never comes, comes damaged, or looks nothing like the photos, your only options are begging, calling out the vendor online, or a long dispute with your bank over a transfer you willingly made.
It doesn't work the other way round either. Honest vendors get burned too. Customers place orders, the vendor buys stock or makes a custom piece, and the buyer disappears. That's why so many sellers insist on full payment upfront: they've been hurt before.
Both sides are protecting themselves, and both end up exposed.
Why the usual workarounds don't solve it
People have tried to patch this in different ways:
- Cash on delivery. It works for small orders in your city. It's harder for expensive items, deliveries across states, or anything custom, and the dispatch rider carrying cash takes a risk too.
- "Pay half now, half later." This only halves the loss. The scammer still keeps the first half.
- Checking reviews and followers. Reviews and followers can be bought, and scam pages copy real vendors' photos and captions.
- Using a mutual friend to hold the money. This depends entirely on that person, and it falls apart once the amount gets big or the friend becomes hard to reach.
What all these attempts are reaching for is a neutral middleman who holds the money until both sides keep their word. That middleman has a name: escrow.
How escrow fixes it
Escrow is simple. Instead of paying the seller directly, the buyer pays into a protected account held by a neutral third party. The money sits there while the seller delivers. When the buyer confirms everything is right, the money is released to the seller.
Think of it like the referee holding the trophy until the final whistle. Nobody gets it early, and nobody can run off with it.
Here's what changes for each side:
- The buyer no longer sends money into the void. If the item doesn't arrive or isn't what was agreed, the funds stay locked while the issue is sorted out.
- The seller sees proof that the buyer has paid in full before shipping or starting work, so there's no more risk of making a custom order for someone who vanishes.
- The scammer loses the whole game. A fake vendor can't get paid without delivering, so there's nothing to gain from posting a fake listing.
How Pandascrow makes this work for everyday deals
We built Pandascrow because escrow used to feel like something for property deals and lawyers, not for buying a phone from an Instagram vendor. Here's how a typical deal works:
- Create the deal. Either the buyer or the seller starts an escrow on Pandascrow with the item, price, delivery date and the other person's email.
- Buyer funds it. The buyer pays by card or by bank transfer to a dedicated account generated just for that transaction. The money goes into escrow, not to the seller.
- Seller delivers. The seller gets notified that the payment is secured, then ships the item or does the work.
- Buyer confirms. When the item arrives and checks out, the buyer confirms with a one-time code.
- Seller gets paid. The money is released automatically to the seller's wallet or bank account.
If something goes wrong, either side can raise a dispute, and the money stays locked until it's resolved. Nobody gets to quietly walk away with it.
For bigger or longer jobs, like a website build, furniture made to order or a wedding vendor, you can use milestone escrow and release payment one stage at a time as each stage is approved.
For vendors: escrow is a selling point
If you sell on Instagram or WhatsApp, the line that wins customers is no longer "trusted vendor, check my reviews." Everyone says that, including the scammers.
What does win customers is "pay through escrow, you're covered." It removes the biggest reason people hesitate in your DMs. With Pandascrow PayMe, you can share a payment link in your bio or chat, and every payment through it is held in escrow until the order is confirmed. You get the sale, and your customer gets peace of mind.
A quick safety checklist for your next online purchase
Before you pay anyone you met online:
- Ask if they'll accept payment through escrow. A genuine vendor has no reason to refuse.
- Be wary of urgency: "only one left," "price goes up in an hour," "pay now to hold it."
- Don't trust screenshots of payment alerts. Check your own account or app.
- Watch for usernames that recently changed, or pages with lots of followers but little real engagement.
- Never send money to "unlock" a delivery, a refund or a prize.
If a seller refuses escrow and insists on a direct transfer for an expensive item, treat that as your answer.
Stop paying strangers on trust
Online shopping in Nigeria doesn't have to feel like gambling. The fix isn't to stop buying from small vendors; they're a big part of why shopping here is personal and fast. The fix is to stop sending money before you've received anything.
Start your first protected deal on Pandascrow, see how escrow works step by step, or read our guide on why direct bank transfers are risky for Nigerian businesses. If you're a freelancer or merchant, our post on how Pandascrow protects freelancers and merchants shows how it works from the seller's side.
Your money should only move when the deal is done.
Sources
- NIBSS figures via Techeconomy, "NIBSS: Digital payment fraud drops 51% to ₦25.85bn in 2025" (June 2026): https://techeconomy.ng/nibss-digital-payment-fraud-drops-51-to-25-85b-in-2025
- Dubawa, "Fake sellers, real losses: how marketplace sellers scam Nigerians through declutter groups": https://dubawa.org/fake-sellers-real-losses-how-marketplace-sellers-scam-nigerians-through-declutter-groups/
- Technext, "E-commerce: why Nigerian consumers still prefer buying on Instagram and WhatsApp" (April 2025): https://technext24.com/2025/04/17/e-commerce-in-nigeria-instagram-whatsapp/