حفاظتی مرکز

Zaroori baatein: Cheez khud dekhe baghair paisay na bhejein. Token, advance ya "delivery charges" pehle maangna scam ki sab se aam nishani hai. OTP ya password kisi ko na batayein, chahe wo khud ko BUY.net.pk ka staff kahe. Public jagah par milein aur shak ho to ad ya chat ko Report karein.

BUY.net.pk connects people who want to buy, sell and hire. We check ads and act on reports, but we are not present when you meet and we do not hold your money. Your own care is the strongest protection. This page explains how to meet safely, how to pay, the scams we see most in Pakistan, and what to check before buying a vehicle or property.

Five rules that stop most scams

1. See it before you pay. No token, no advance, no booking fee for something you have not inspected in person.
2. Keep the chat on BUY.net.pk. A chat here can be reported and checked. Someone who insists on moving to another app within the first message often has a reason.
3. Never share an OTP, PIN or password. Nobody needs your code to pay you or to "verify" you.
4. Believe the price. A price far below the market is bait far more often than it is luck.
5. Walk away when pushed. "Another buyer is on the way, send the money now" is pressure, not information.

Meeting safely

• Meet in daylight in a busy public place: a market, a bank branch, a mall or a well-known shop.
• Take someone with you, and tell a family member where you are going and who you are meeting.
• For expensive items, meet inside a bank so cash can be counted and deposited on the spot.
• Do not go alone to an unfamiliar house, and do not invite a stranger into yours when you are alone. For large items that must be seen at home, have another adult present.
• Test the item properly: switch it on, check every function and compare it with the ad.

Paying and getting paid

• Pay at the handover, not before. Cash counted in front of both people, or a bank transfer you can both see arrive, are the safest ways.
• Sellers: confirm the money in your own banking or wallet app before you hand over the item. A screenshot or a forwarded SMS proves nothing.
• Write a simple receipt for anything valuable: date, item, serial or IMEI or registration number, price, and both names with CNIC numbers and signatures.
• BUY.net.pk never asks you to pay a buyer, a seller or a "delivery agent" through us, and we do not offer escrow. Payments to BUY.net.pk are only for your own promotions and packages, made from your account page.

Common scams in Pakistan

Advance or token payment

The seller says many people are interested and asks for a token through a mobile wallet to "hold" the item. After you pay, the number is switched off. The same trick is used with cars, phones, pets and rentals. Do not pay anything before you have seen the item and the seller in person.

Courier and "delivery" scams

The seller is "out of city" and offers to send the item by courier if you pay the delivery fee, customs charge or insurance first. Sometimes a fake courier page or tracking number is sent to look official. Sellers are targeted too: a "buyer" sends a link that claims your payment is waiting with a courier company and asks you to enter card or wallet details to receive it. Real couriers do not work like this. Do not open payment links from strangers.

Fake payment screenshots

A buyer shows or sends a screenshot of a transfer, or an SMS that looks like it came from your bank, and wants the item immediately. Screenshots are easy to edit and SMS sender names can be faked. Open your own app and check your balance. If the money is not there, the item stays with you.

OTP and account takeover

Someone calls or messages pretending to be from BUY.net.pk, your bank, a wallet company or a courier. They say a code has been sent to you "by mistake" or is needed to confirm your ad, and ask you to read it out. That code is the key to your account or wallet. Our team will never ask for your OTP, password or PIN, in chat, by phone or by email.

Overpayment

A buyer "accidentally" sends more than the price, often with a fake receipt or a cheque, and asks you to return the difference quickly. The original payment then fails or never existed, and the money you returned is gone. Do not refund anything until the full amount has truly cleared in your account, and treat any overpayment as a warning.

Rental deposits

A flat or house is advertised at an attractive rent. The "owner" is abroad or busy and asks for a security deposit or one month's rent to book a visit or to "take the ad down". Sometimes the same property is shown to several people and a deposit is collected from each. Visit the property, meet the owner or an agent you can identify, and see ownership proof before any money moves.

Jobs, visas and prizes

Offers of jobs abroad, visas, loans or prizes that ask for a fee first are almost always fraud.

Buying a used vehicle: document checks

• Ask for the original registration book or smart card and match the registration, engine and chassis numbers with the vehicle itself.
• Check the registration record on the excise department's online vehicle verification service for the province where it is registered. The owner's name should match the seller's CNIC.
• If the seller is not the registered owner ("open letter"), be very careful: transfer can become difficult or impossible. Prefer a seller who can transfer the vehicle in your name.
• Ask for the original file, token tax receipts and, for imported cars, the import documents. Check that token tax is paid up to date.
• Look for signs of tampering on the chassis number and ask directly about accidents and repainting.
• Have the vehicle inspected by a mechanic you trust or a professional inspection service before paying. For cars, our sister site offers this through Car.net.pk inspection.
• Complete the transfer at the excise office, with biometric verification where it applies, rather than relying on a promise to transfer later.

Buying or renting property: document checks

• Ask for the ownership document: the registry or sale deed, the fard from the land record office, or the allotment or transfer letter for a housing society or authority.
• Verify it at the source: the land record centre, the development authority or the society's own office. Do not rely on photocopies or on what an agent tells you.
• Match the owner's name with the CNIC of the person you are dealing with. If someone acts on a power of attorney, have it verified.
• Check for unpaid dues, mortgages, disputes or court stay orders, and confirm the housing scheme is approved by the relevant authority.
• For rentals, sign a written tenancy agreement on stamp paper, get a receipt for the deposit, and complete the tenant registration your local police require.
• For a purchase, use a lawyer or a registered deed writer. The cost is small compared with the risk.

Buying a used phone

Dial *#06# on the phone to see its IMEI and check it with PTA's device verification system before you pay. A phone that is blocked or not approved may not work on Pakistani networks. Make sure the seller signs out of their cloud account and resets the phone in front of you. Our blog has a full used phone checklist.

Hiring a service provider

• Read the provider's profile, badges and reviews. A "Business verified" or "ID verified" badge tells you what we checked, not how good the work will be.
• Agree the price, what is included and who buys materials before work begins. Keep it in the chat.
• Pay when the work is done as agreed. For large jobs, pay in stages against finished work, not everything in advance.
• Do not leave a worker alone in your home with valuables in reach.

Protect your account

• Use a password you do not use anywhere else, and turn on two-factor authentication in your account security settings.
• Check the list of devices logged in to your account and sign out any you do not recognise.
• Only log in on the real site. Check that the address is buy.net.pk before you type a password or code.

How to report

• An ad: open it and press Report. Choose the reason and add a short note.
• A person in chat: use Report in the conversation, and Block to stop further messages.
• Anything else: write to contact@buy.net.pk or use the contact form with the ad link and screenshots.

If you have lost money or feel threatened, contact the police (15) and the national cyber crime authority as soon as possible, and tell your bank or wallet company at once so they can try to block the transfer. Keep the chat, the phone numbers and the payment receipts as evidence. We cooperate with lawful requests from the authorities.

What BUY.net.pk does

We run automatic checks on every ad, review risky ads and certain categories by hand, remove ads and accounts that break the marketplace rules, and act on reports. We cannot guarantee any ad, seller, buyer or provider, and we cannot recover money sent to a scammer. Please use the advice on this page every time.