Marketplace scams in Vietnam: how to avoid them when buying and selling

Common scams on classifieds and chats in Nha Trang: prepayment, fake transfer screenshots, payment links, bike papers. A checklist and what to do if you were scammed.

The full guide is available in Russian for now. The key points:

• Almost every scam asks for money before you have seen the item, the flat or the person. Do not prepay and do not open payment links from strangers.
• As a seller, hand over the goods only when the money is visible in your own banking app. A transfer screenshot proves nothing.
• For a bike, ask for the original registration card (cà vẹt) in the seller's name and match the frame and engine numbers.
• If you were scammed, call your bank at once, save the chat, report the listing on timi and file a report at the local police station with an interpreter.