How to buy safely from sellers you found online

Buying from someone you found on social media can be great: unique products, local sellers, better prices. It can also go wrong. Most people know someone who paid first and never heard from the seller again.

You don’t have to stop buying online. You just need a few habits that make scams very hard to pull off.

The red flags

Be careful when a seller:

• Insists you pay outside the app (“send it by mobile money first”, “transfer to this number”). This is the most common scam pattern.
• Creates urgency (“someone else wants it, pay now or I sell it”).
• Offers a price far below the market for a new phone, sneakers or electronics.
• Refuses to show the item on video, or only sends the same stock photos.
• Has no history: a new profile, no reviews, no past posts.
• Asks for codes or personal details, such as a verification code, PIN or password. Never share these with anyone.

Safe habits that work

Pay only inside the app

On SplashArk, when you pay in the app, by mobile money through PawaPay or by card through Stripe, your payment goes into a secure wallet. It’s held until you receive what you paid for, and released to the seller after a short hold window. If you pay outside the app, none of that protection applies.

Read the refund policy before you pay

Sellers on SplashArk show their refund policy up front. Check it before you buy, especially for clothes and electronics.

Check reviews and badges

Look at ratings, reviews and verification badges. Ask for a short video of the actual item, or better, buy during a live sale where you can see it in real time.

Keep your conversations in the app

Chat and call inside SplashArk. Your phone number stays private, and if there’s a dispute, the conversation is on record.

Confirm delivery only when you have the item

Don’t confirm receipt until the order is in your hands and matches the listing.

If something goes wrong

• Open a dispute in the app as soon as possible, and within 14 days of the expected delivery date. Disputes are reviewed by real people, and when the funds are still on hold, you can be refunded before the seller is paid.
• Report the account if someone tries to move you off the app, asks for codes, or behaves abusively. You can also block them.
• Warn others. Share what happened with friends and family so the same trick doesn’t work twice.

For sellers: protection works both ways

Honest sellers benefit most from safe payments. Buyers who feel protected pay faster and come back more often. Trusted sellers with a good track record also get shorter hold windows, so the money reaches you sooner.

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