1. Why this page exists

Most scams in Nigeria are not clever. They are old, recycled tricks that work because people are busy, polite, or in a hurry. The patterns repeat. Once you know what to look for, you can spot a scam from the first message, and you can warn the people around you to do the same.

This page is a practical guide. It is not a complete list. Scammers invent new wrinkles every week. But the underlying patterns rarely change, and the rules for protecting yourself almost never do.

2. Five rules that catch most scams

If you only remember five things from this page, make it these.

2.1 If they push you to act fast, slow down

Urgency is the scammer's main tool. "Pay now or the deal is gone." "Confirm in the next 5 minutes or your account will be locked." "The slot is going to someone else." A real business will give you time to think. A scammer cannot afford to.

2.2 If they ask you to pay through a route they chose, refuse

A legitimate seller will accept normal Nigerian payment methods: a bank transfer to a business account, card payment through Paystack or Flutterwave, or escrow services. Anyone who insists on a specific personal account, a foreign payment method you have never used, or "this special channel" is steering you toward something they can hide behind.

2.3 If they ask for codes, PINs, BVN, or full ID details, stop

No legitimate Nigerian business needs your bank PIN, your card CVV (for a transaction they did not initiate), your BVN, or your full NIN to do business with you. Banks do not call to ask for these. Government agencies do not ask through WhatsApp. If they ask, they are not who they say they are.

2.4 If the price is too good, ask why

An iPhone for ₦80,000. A Lagos two-bedroom rental for ₦200,000 a year. An "investment" returning 30% a month. If a deal is far below the going rate, the reason is rarely "I am being generous." The reason is usually "I plan to disappear."

2.5 If you cannot verify them, do not trust them

A real business has a real address you can visit, a real CAC registration you can look up, a working customer service line, and reviews that come from a varied set of accounts over time. Take five minutes to check before you pay. A legitimate business will not mind the delay.

3. Common Nigerian scams

3.1 The vanishing online seller

You see a phone, laptop, or generator advertised on Instagram, WhatsApp, or a marketplace at a great price. The seller asks for a bank transfer to "secure your unit". After you pay, they go silent or block you.

Look for: insistence on transfer-only payment, no physical address, a new account, photos that appear elsewhere online, and pressure to pay before you have asked questions.

3.2 The "Federal contract" advance fee

You are contacted, often through WhatsApp, with an offer to supply something to a government ministry, an oil company, or a "major Lagos firm". You are told you have been selected because of a recommendation. To "register" or "process the contract", you need to pay a small fee. Then another. Then another.

Look for: contact through messaging apps rather than official channels, the unverified claim of an insider recommendation, advance fees of any kind, and "registration" with bodies that do not exist.

3.3 The fake bank or NIMC alert

You get a call or text saying your bank account, BVN, or NIN has been compromised. "We need to update your details. Read out the codes we are about to send you so we can secure your account." The codes are actually authorising transfers out of your account.

Look for: unsolicited contact, urgent language, requests for codes, OTPs, PINs, or any login details. End the call, then call your bank's official customer service line yourself.

3.4 The romance investment

You meet someone online. They are warm, attentive, and quickly serious. After a few weeks of building trust, they mention an investment opportunity their cousin or contact runs. They have made a lot of money. You should try a small amount. The "platform" shows your money growing. When you try to withdraw, there are fees, then more fees, then nothing.

Look for: a relationship that moves very fast, an unverifiable backstory, "platforms" you cannot find independently, and the pattern where you have to pay more to get your money out.

3.5 The fake job offer

You are offered a job, often remote, often with surprisingly good pay. To start, you need to pay for "training materials", "background check", "ID card", or "equipment". A real employer pays for these. A scammer charges for them.

Look for: any upfront payment requested by an "employer", interview processes that happen entirely on WhatsApp, refusal to do a video call, and offers that arrived without you applying.

3.6 The crypto and "AI trading" platform

A platform promises consistent high returns on crypto or "AI-assisted" trading. The dashboard shows your balance growing every day. You can withdraw the small amounts at first. Once you have put in more, withdrawals stop working, and "tax", "verification fees", or "account upgrade" charges appear.

Look for: promised returns above what any honest market produces, withdrawal requirements that keep changing, pressure to invite friends, and the absence of regulatory registration in Nigeria.

3.7 The fake Ratecrest review trade

A business contacts you through WhatsApp, Telegram, or a Facebook group offering small payments, discounts, or "free products" in exchange for a 5-star Ratecrest review. Sometimes they ask for a 1-star review on a competitor.

This is a scam in two ways. First, it breaches our Review Policy and you can be banned from the platform. Second, the "payment" often never arrives, or arrives once to bait you into doing more. Report these approaches to us through the contact form.

3.8 The rent or land scam

A property is advertised at a striking price. The "agent" cannot meet you at the property but will show you photos and ask for a "viewing fee" or "agency commission" upfront. Sometimes the property is real but not theirs; sometimes it does not exist.

Look for: unwillingness to meet at the property, unfamiliar agents, requests for fees before you have seen the place, and reluctance to share verifiable identification.

3.9 The "wrong transfer" reversal

Someone messages you saying they sent money to your account by mistake. They share a doctored "alert" screenshot. They ask you to transfer the amount back. Your bank balance never actually changed. By the time the trick is clear, your money is gone.

Look for: alerts you cannot see in your own bank app, urgency, and any request for you to transfer money to a stranger to "correct" something.

3.10 The impersonation scam

Someone messages you claiming to be a relative, a senior person at your workplace, your church pastor, or another authority figure. They are in trouble, or they need an urgent favour, and they cannot use their normal number "right now". They need a transfer.

Look for: contact from an unknown number claiming to be someone you know, urgency, and a story that explains why they cannot be reached on their usual contact. Verify by calling the person on the number you already have for them.

4. Red flags to learn by heart

• Pressure to act fast. "Pay now," "right away," "before midnight."
• Payment to a personal account when you are buying from a "business".
• A price that does not make sense at the going rate.
• Refusal to meet, to be seen on video, or to share verifiable identification.
• Spelling and grammar that does not match the size of business they claim to be.
• Requests for codes, PINs, OTPs, BVN, NIN, or full card details.
• A story that explains away your every concern just slightly too smoothly.
• An "opportunity" that has to stay quiet because the slots are limited.
• Anyone who calls you to "help" with a problem you did not know you had.
• Reviews on a business that all sound the same and all appeared within days of each other.

5. If you already paid

Speed matters more than anything else.

5.1 The first hour

Call your bank's fraud line. Not customer service, the fraud line. Many Nigerian banks can freeze the receiving account or reverse the transfer if you call quickly. Have ready: the date and time of the transfer, the receiving account number and bank, and the amount.

5.2 The first day

If the bank could not reverse it, file a report with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and with the Nigerian Police Force. Keep every message, screenshot, and receipt. These reports are how patterns get spotted and how accounts get frozen.

5.3 The first week

If a business that operates publicly defrauded you, file a complaint with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. See the FCCPA rights guide. Post an honest review on Ratecrest, with specifics and dates. Your warning helps the next person not lose what you lost.

5.4 Be careful about "recovery agents"

Once you have been scammed, "recovery experts" may appear, often through the same channels you were scammed on. They claim to be able to get your money back for a fee. They cannot. They are the second wave of the same scam. The only paths to recovery are your bank, the EFCC, and the courts.

6. Helping other Nigerians

Once you know how a scam works, you stop being the target and start being the warning. A few practical ways to help:

• If you got scammed by a business that operates publicly, leave an honest, specific review on Ratecrest. Names, dates, what they said, what happened.
• Share screenshots in family and community WhatsApp groups, especially those with older members and younger ones.
• Report obvious scam profiles on Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. Platforms do remove them when reports build up.
• Talk to people you care about, especially when you see news of a new scam pattern. The first time someone hears about a scam, they are partly protected from it.

7. When Ratecrest can help and when we cannot

Ratecrest is a review platform. We can help warn other Nigerians, give you space to share your experience publicly, and apply our own rules to keep the platform fair.

We cannot recover money for you, investigate fraud with police powers, or act in place of the FCCPC, the EFCC, the courts, or your bank. Use Ratecrest alongside the formal routes, not instead of them.

If you were approached for a fake review, that is something we want to know about. Report it through the contact form with "Review trade" in the subject.

8. Questions

The contact form is the right way to reach us about anything in this guide. Write "Scam guide" in the subject. We cannot give you legal advice or recover money, but we can point you to the right official body to approach.