What to do if an online seller scammed you in Nigeria

First, act quickly

The sooner you move after a bad transfer, the better any slim chance of recovery. Realistically, a cleared bank transfer to a fraudster is very hard to reverse — but do these in order:

1. Save all evidence. Screenshots of the chat, the listing/photos, the payment receipt, the account name and number, phone numbers and profile links. One organised record is what any investigation needs.
2. Contact your bank immediately. Report the transfer as fraud and ask about options. Speed matters; some cases can be flagged before funds are fully moved on.
3. Report to the authorities. File with the Nigeria Police (including the cybercrime unit) and, where relevant, the EFCC. Keep your report reference.
4. Report the account and profile. Report the social account to the platform, and the receiving bank account to the bank it belongs to — this can help freeze repeat-offender accounts.
5. Warn others. A public, factual account of what happened protects the next buyer.

Manage expectations

None of the above guarantees you get your money back. That is the hard truth of pay-first fraud in Nigeria: once the transfer clears, leverage is gone.

The change that actually protects you

Make this the last time you pay before delivery. From now on:

• Pay into a protected hold, not a personal account. Your money releases to the seller only after you confirm the item arrived.
• Ask for a protected payment link, or buy through a protected marketplace.
• If a seller refuses payment-on-delivery protection, treat it as the warning it is.

On BuyChat, buyer protection is built into every purchase, so the "collect and disappear" script simply cannot run — the seller is never paid until you confirm delivery, and if something is wrong you open a dispute instead of losing the money. The best recovery strategy is never needing one.