How to Spot & Avoid Scams
Scammers reuse the same small set of tactics because they work. Once you can name the pattern, it stops working. Here are the ones we see most often on Pakistani classifieds, and what to do if you encounter them.
The advance-payment scam
How it works: The item is priced attractively. The seller insists on a deposit or full payment by bank or mobile-wallet transfer before you can see it — often claiming another buyer is interested, or that they are out of the city.
The tell: Any pressure to pay before meeting. Genuine sellers expect you to inspect the item.
What to do: Refuse. Pay in person, on collection. A seller who will not accept that is not selling anything.
The courier or delivery scam
How it works:The seller offers to ship the item and asks for payment plus a "courier fee" or "insurance" up front. You may be shown a forged receipt or tracking number.
The tell:A tracking number that doesn't resolve on the courier's own website, or a fee that must be paid to a personal account.
What to do: Prefer local, in-person collection. If you must use delivery, use cash on delivery with inspection allowed before payment.
The overpayment scam (targets sellers)
How it works: A buyer sends — or claims to have sent — more than the asking price, then asks you to refund the difference. The original payment is fake, reversed, or never arrives.
The tell: Any overpayment followed by a refund request. There is no innocent version of this.
What to do: Never refund. Check your actual account balance, not a screenshot. A payment confirmation image proves nothing.
The fake payment screenshot
How it works: A buyer shows a convincing screenshot of a completed transfer and collects the item. The money never arrives.
The tell: You are being asked to accept an image as evidence.
What to do: Only release the item once the funds are visible in your own account, checked in your own banking app.
The verification-code scam
How it works:Someone asks you to read out a code that has just been sent to your phone, framed as "confirming you're a real seller". They are using it to take over your account or register your number elsewhere.
The tell: Anyone asking for a code sent to your device.
What to do: Never share an OTP or verification code with anyone, for any reason. ListQuikk will never ask you for one.
Phishing links
How it works:You're sent a link to "confirm your payment", "claim your money" or "verify your listing". The page imitates a bank or ListQuikk and harvests your credentials.
The tell: Check the address bar. Our site is only ever at www.listquikk.com. Anything else — a lookalike domain, a link shortener, a page asking for your password mid-transaction — is not us.
What to do:Don't click. Navigate to sites yourself. ListQuikk will never ask for your password outside the login page.
Red flags, in short
- The price is far below market value for no credible reason
- You're pressured to decide or pay immediately
- The seller refuses to meet, call, or answer specific questions about the item
- Photos look like stock images or appear on other listings
- The conversation moves off ListQuikk in the first message
- You're asked for an OTP, password, CNIC or bank details
- Payment must go to an account in a different name
- The story changes when you ask a direct question
If you think you've been scammed
- Stop all further paymentsimmediately, and do not send anything more to "release" a previous payment.
- Keep the evidence — the chat, the listing URL, the username, transfer receipts and screenshots.
- Report the user to us via Report Abuse so we can investigate and suspend the account.
- Report it to your bank or wallet provider right away — speed matters for any chance of recovery.
- Report it to law enforcement. Cybercrime in Pakistan is handled by the FIA Cybercrime Wing; complaints can be filed at their regional offices or through their official complaint channel.
We will act on the account. But please be clear: ListQuikk does not process payments and cannot recover money that has already been transferred. See Buyer Protection.