How to Buy and Sell Safely on Classified Sites in Pakistan

The three rules

Common scams, and how they work

The fake payment screenshot

The "buyer" says the money's gone through and shows you a screenshot or a forwarded SMS. You hand over the item. Nothing ever lands. Fix: open your own banking app and see the amount there before anything changes hands.

The "I'm abroad, my courier will pick it up" buyer

He's fine with your price without even seeing the thing, then asks you to cover a courier or customs fee, or to ship it first. Fix: deal only with people who come, look at the item and pay for it in person.

The verification code trick

They say they need to "verify" your ad or account and ask for the code that's just come to your phone. That code is really for your WhatsApp or your bank. Fix: QuickSell never asks for a code. Don't give one to anybody.

Prices that look too good

An iPhone or a car listed way under similar ads nearly always comes with a request for an advance. Fix: compare with other listings, and walk away if the deal only works when you pay upfront.

Checks by category

Meeting safely

• Meet somewhere busy, in daylight. A mall, a bank branch, a petrol pump with CCTV.
• Take a friend along and let someone at home know where you've gone.
• For cars and property, do the final payment and the transfer at the bank or the official office.

How to report a scam on QuickSell

Open the ad and tap Report. Our team looks at every report and takes down fake ads and accounts. Lost money? Call your bank right away as well, and file a complaint with the authorities.

Scams by platform type

The scams look much the same whether it's OLX, Facebook Marketplace, a WhatsApp group or QuickSell. The script shifts a little. What they want from you doesn't.

Worked example: selling a phone in Karachi

You put a Samsung up for sale. Ten minutes later: "Final price? Done. I'm in Islamabad, my cousin will collect, sending money now." A minute after that, a screenshot of a transfer. Then the follow-up: "Please send back Rs 5,000, I sent extra by mistake."

Check your banking app. No transfer. The screenshot was doctored, and that "extra" five thousand was the whole scam. Block the number, report the chat. Someone genuinely interested would come to see the phone, or at least ask about PTA status and battery health.

Meeting checklist

• Meet in daylight somewhere busy with cameras: a mall food court, a bank, a petrol pump.
• Tell someone where you're going and roughly when you'll be home.
• Phones: check PTA status and test with your own SIM. Cars and bikes: verify the registration first.
• For cars and property, settle the money at a bank and do the transfer at the Excise or society office.
• Don't carry a bag full of cash. A bank transfer you can see in your own app is safer.

If you've been scammed

Ring your bank's or wallet's helpline immediately and ask them to block the transaction or the account. Save screenshots of the chat, the ad and the number. Report the ad on QuickSell with the Report button. After that, lodge a cybercrime complaint through the official government complaint channel.

Each category has its own checks, and we've written them up: PTA status for phones, registration for cars, car inspection and plot approval. Selling something? Here's how to sell a phone or sell a car without getting burned.

Category-by-category: the one check that matters most

Signs you're talking to a genuine buyer or seller

• They ask about the actual item: battery health, paint, plot number.
• They don't mind meeting in public and bringing someone.
• No rush, and no need for a code, a link or an advance.
• The name on their CNIC matches the papers, or they can tell you plainly why it doesn't.

Honest people slip up too, so do the checks regardless. Still, a buyer who wants to see the phone and haggles over two thousand rupees is acting normal. One who says yes instantly and then wants a code isn't.