A digital product differs from any other goods in one decisive way: once delivered, it cannot be taken back. No shipment returns, nothing gets repossessed. That is why top-up stores became a favourite target, and these are the most common tricks.
1. The forged transfer receipt
By far the most common: the customer sends a screenshot of a bank or wallet transfer that looks entirely genuine — because it is edited, or from an earlier payment, or a transfer that will be cancelled minutes later.
The step: never execute on a screenshot. Open your own banking app and confirm the money arrived. This rule alone prevents most losses in new stores, and it has no exception however urgent or angry the customer is — their urgency is itself a signal.
2. The chargeback after delivery
The customer pays by a disputable method, takes the code, then opens a dispute claiming they received nothing. The product is consumed and the money goes back to them.
The step: prefer final payment methods for new customers, and document every delivery with its time and order number. With a new customer and a large amount, split the deal: deliver part, get confirmation, then complete.
3. The deliberately wrong ID
The customer gives you an ID that is not theirs, you top it up, then they come back saying nothing arrived and demand you send it again. It did arrive — to their friend's account.
The step: show the player name and get it confirmed in writing before deducting. The customer's own message saying "yes that is my account" is complete evidence, and it ends the argument before it starts.
4. Stolen goods from a cheap source
An unknown supplier offers prices below market by an implausible margin. The cards were bought with stolen bank cards and get disabled within days — after you have sold them. The loss is yours alone, because your customer will come to you, not to an anonymous supplier.
The step: a price far below market is a warning, not an opportunity. Buy from a wholesale source with a real identity and an order history you can point back to.
5. Impersonating support or management
A message arrives from "platform support" asking for your details, a verification code, or an urgent transfer "to activate your account". The account being targeted here is yours, not your customer's.
The step: no legitimate party asks for a verification code or a password, ever. Verify any request through the official channel you already know, not through a link that arrived in the message.
6. The scam victim buying from you
The hardest case morally: a customer — often elderly — buying large denominations in a hurry, visibly anxious, perhaps saying someone is on the phone with them right now. This is not a fraudster; it is a victim being told what to do.
The step: stop and calmly ask what it is for. No official body in any country accepts payment in gift cards. You may lose a sale, save someone's savings, and keep your store out of a case file.
The five rules, short
- Do not execute before you see the money in your own account — not in a screenshot.
- Confirm the account name in writing before any deduction.
- Buy from a known source, even at slightly more.
- Document every order: the time, the number, the customer's confirmation.
- Urgency is a signal, not a reason. Someone pressing you to skip a step knows exactly which step they want skipped.