Shopping on the Internet is really convenient, but online shopping is a high-risk area, as it is very easy to encounter fraud. If you were deceived on Avito, you don’t need to limit yourself to regretting the lost money: you have the right to punish scammers for their unlawful actions.
However, if you have not encountered such cases before and do not understand the intricacies of the current legislation, it is better to enlist the support of a professional lawyer.
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Cheating schemes on Avito
When using the service, it is important to distinguish a bona fide seller and buyer from a fraudster. To do this, it is worth studying the main methods of deception through the site.
Prepayment
Advertisements for selling items are posted in various cities. Sometimes the buyer and seller live in different localities. In this case, the procedure for sending the goods must be agreed upon. Delivery can be carried out by mail or courier service.
The seller may ask for an advance payment before shipping. After transferring funds to the card, the fraudster stops communication and deletes the profile.
Reference! The requirement to transfer an advance payment should alert the user. After all, the parties can agree to send the parcel by cash on delivery.
Bank cards
The Avito service does not provide the user with the opportunity to link a bank card to a profile. But citizens can transfer funds directly to the card. Fraudsters may offer to purchase goods by paying by bank transfer.
To carry out the transaction, the seller “must” inform the buyer:
- Account number;
- card expiry date;
- CVC code.
The attackers report that the transfer to the card will be carried out after the seller reports the code received by SMS. At this moment, the money from this card is transferred to the fraudster.
When selling a car
Fraud schemes are common when selling cars. If the car has good equipment, condition, and is sold at a low price, you can run into scammers. Typically, such advertisements do not contain information about the origin of the car or registration number.
The seller reports that the car is in great demand. Therefore, he asks to make a deposit by transferring money to the card.
Sometimes a low price indicates that the car has been seized or that the car has been stolen. If you encounter scammers, if you have already transferred money to the account, the new owner will take a long time to prove that he purchased the vehicle in good faith. It is difficult to return the funds or retain the title to the car.
When selling apartments
When selling an apartment to a buyer, scammers may offer to make an advance payment and invite them to view the apartment with the subsequent signing of a sales contract.
Usually such advertisements contain 1-2 photos, and the price of the apartment is underestimated. Of the contacts, only the mobile phone number is registered. Even when communicating, attackers do not name a specific address.
Don't panic
There are many complaints from victims on sites like Avito, and it is difficult to find useful information about this on the Internet. Apart from short articles that do not really explain how to get out of the current situation, it is difficult to find anything.
The first thing you need to do is not to worry under any circumstances. If you have already encountered scammers, you can get your money back thanks to the information in this article.
And if you are lucky and you were not deceived, then you will definitely be ready in a similar situation to repel cunning scammers in the future, who are constantly trying to get to your hard-earned money in your wallet through dishonest means.
How to get my money back?
Judging by reviews from citizens, Avito service specialists do not always deal with situations related to fraud.
But this does not mean that a person needs to resign himself and part with money. You need to contact the support service, as well as law enforcement agencies. If the identity of the fraudster is established, you can not only return the funds, but also receive compensation.
Via Avito technical support service
The first thing you need to do is contact Avito support service. You need to make a request to provide information about the user who committed illegal actions.
To send a request, you need to go to the “Feedback” section. An electronic form becomes available to the user, which is filled out by the applicant. Evidence of fraud is attached to the application.
These include:
- screenshots;
- correspondence;
- payment receipts.
The application is reviewed within 30 days.
To prevent such situations from occurring, you should ask the service administration to block the user. Otherwise, even before the application is considered, he may deceive other citizens.
Via bank
You can block your account or cancel completed transactions through your bank. To do this, the cardholder must submit an application.
In a written request you must indicate:
- name of the banking organization;
- surname, name, patronymic of the citizen;
- residential address;
- contact number;
- description of the circumstances of the incident;
- date of debiting;
- payment amount;
- request to cancel the operation;
- date and signature.
Supporting documents must be attached to the application. These include screenshots of correspondence, video and audio recordings.
Through the police
After sending the message to the bank and Avito technical support, you need to file a police report. Employees must conduct a check and qualify the act. The application is submitted at the citizen’s place of residence.
The document must reflect the following information:
- addressee details (name of police department, address);
- applicant's details (full name, date of birth, address, telephone);
- description of the situation;
- grounds for appeal (Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation);
- a request to initiate a criminal case;
- list of attached materials;
- date of compilation;
- signature.
The application must be accompanied by documents confirming the fact of fraud. Documents are sent personally to the department and by mail. You can also use the online service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If facts of an illegal act are revealed, a criminal case is initiated.
Through the court
If the identity of the criminal is established by law enforcement agencies, it is possible to go to court. A citizen files a claim against the lawbreaker and demands the return of lost funds. Additionally, you can compensate for moral damages.
The court considers the case and makes a decision. If it is in favor of the plaintiff, the defendant is obliged to compensate for losses.
They sell a car under arrest, and an apartment as collateral
It happens that a deposit is asked at the stage of inspection of the goods. Most often this happens with cars and apartments.
So, you come, look, everything suits you. The seller says that you are not the first to grab the tidbit. So make a deposit and the car/apartment will not be shown to anyone else.
Problems are discovered at the time of the transaction. For example, the car is under arrest, and the apartment is pledged. Even if you have a receipt or agreement, it will be difficult to prove something in court. Especially if the contract says that the deposit is not refundable. And someone will bother for the sake of several thousand.
Is it possible to file a police report through the Ministry of Internal Affairs website?
You can contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs online.
The application is submitted on the official website of the department. You can use both the main and regional versions. To submit your application you must follow the instructions:
- Go to the official website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and select a territorial department.
- On the right side of the page, click “Receive requests”. Place a check mark in the box confirming that you have read the information.
- Click the “Submit Appeal” button. Fill out the proposed form, describing in detail the current situation in the “Text of appeal” paragraph.
- Attach the necessary files confirming the fact of fraud.
- Submit your request after receiving appropriate confirmation.
Attention! The application is reviewed within 3 working days. After this, a decision is made to initiate criminal proceedings or refuse. The applicant is sent a written notification.
Subtleties and nuances
How else do scammers force victims to pay them? In practice, there are many deception schemes:
- suspicious offers of “lucrative” work, where they offer up to 1,000–25,000 rubles a day, and the job responsibilities are extremely vague;
- sale or rental of real estate, when a wonderful apartment suddenly has an extremely low price. Of course, there are times when you really need money, but even then the landlord is unlikely to agree to halve the cost of the apartment;
- sale of elite and high-quality goods at a suspiciously low price;
- SMS is a mailing where the scammer asks you to immediately call back or respond to SMS in order to “unblock” the posted ad. The victim complies with the request and instantly loses the money.
Alas, the imagination of dishonest people can truly be limitless.
Is it possible to submit an application through State Services?
When using the previous version of the State Services portal, it was possible to file a report with the police.
But the new version does not provide such a function. Through the portal you can file a fraud complaint with the prosecutor's office. After reviewing the application, it may be forwarded to the police. But this will take about 30 days.
To apply you need:
- log in to the State Services portal;
- select the “Security and Law and Order” section;
- click the button “Submit an appeal to the prosecutor’s office”;
- submit an appeal by filling out all the fields and attaching materials.
The decision will be sent to the user through the portal’s personal account.
What to do for victims of fraud: procedure
Alas, the deception was a success. What to do if a person has already lost money or a valuable item?
The police will help. The victim of deception needs to write a statement, because such activity has a clear characteristic described in Article 159. However, in practice it will be difficult to punish the fraudster.
Procedure:
- the victim must write a detailed statement, where he will tell how exactly the deception occurred and what exactly it consisted of;
- supplement your arguments with relevant evidence (screenshots of correspondence, advertisement text and other materials related to this incident);
- personal data obtained about the fraudster (his full name, number through which he contacted, address);
- checks, payment receipts;
- Before providing documents, it is better to make notarized copies of them; perhaps they will still be useful, for example, in court.
Then the victim will have to independently look for other victims using the Internet and other means. Often, scammers use the developed scheme for a long time and manage to deceive many naive citizens.
Questions from our readers
What threatens scammers for cheating on Avito?
In accordance with Part 1 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, fraud is the theft of someone else's property, which a citizen acquires through deception or abuse of trust. Despite the fact that the transaction is carried out through the Avito service, the administration is not responsible for the actions of the participants. Therefore, the victim himself will have to prove the fact of fraud.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, every fourth of these crimes was solved in 2020. Therefore, it is important to contact the police as soon as possible to find the intruder.
If the criminal is caught, he will have to pay a minimum fine of 120,000 rubles. He faces a maximum of 2 years in prison.
How to avoid scammers on Avito?
To avoid meeting with scammers, you must follow the rules:
- When publishing an advertisement, you must indicate “In messages” in the communication method. In this case, the mobile phone number will be hidden. The user will be able to write to the chat. And if you send suspicious links, the service will block them.
- If the number is indicated, there is no need to communicate in instant messengers. All the necessary buttons and features are available in the Avito chat. You can send photos and make video calls.
- Before selling or buying, you need to check the profile and customer/seller rating. It’s worth considering if you registered for the service recently.
- There is no need to rush to complete the transaction. After payment, the seller has 5 days to ship the goods.
- You need to carefully study the rules of Avito delivery. You should not tell your interlocutor that you have never used this function.
- It is prohibited to click on third-party links.
The price of the product
We cannot rule out the fact that the seller urgently needs money, so he sells the item for next to nothing. But most often, scammers are hiding behind such advertisements on Avito. The calculation in this case is simple - by offering goods at a reduced price, they cleverly manipulate the buyer’s feelings. A person will part with a small amount much more easily and will not arrange numerous checks with the seller. Most often this concerns the sale of gadgets, branded items, or goods that do not require careful testing. However, sometimes the impudence of scammers can go beyond all limits, and an inexperienced buyer can succumb to provocation and transfer a large sum of money for household appliances or a car. Remember: a low price should raise suspicion!
Underwater rocks
If you commit fraudulent actions on the Avito service, you will have to try hard to get your money back.
In this case, the following difficulties may arise:
- You will have to prove that the money was transferred not on a voluntary basis, but as a result of fraud.
- Banking organizations may refuse to return the money if the card details are available to the fraudster.
- A citizen who finds himself in a difficult situation may not know how to draw up statements or where to apply.
"Follow this link"
Often, advertisements contain an offer to view the product more thoroughly using a third-party site. For the convenience of the buyer, the seller leaves a link through which you can follow and consider all the little things and details of the future purchase. Of course, such an offer will be of interest to anyone - after all, this is an additional guarantee that the product actually exists. However, as soon as you click on the link, a virus or malicious code will be installed on your computer. With its help, scammers will obtain information about all your credit cards, accounts and electronic wallets. With simple manipulations, they will be able to withdraw any amount without your participation. Before clicking on such links, you should check if you have an antivirus program installed on your computer or phone.
