Five ways to spot fake Instagram vendor, page

Have you ever fallen victim to a scam Instagram vendor?

You may have been scammed if you ever find yourself frantically checking your phone, comparing pictures of a beautiful and colourful dress you ordered to the torn, faded, dirty outfit they delivered. Naturally, you tried to provide a logical reason, believing the seller made a mistake. However, reality sets in when you reach out to the seller and receive an unfavourable response or in some extreme cases, you discover you have been blocked.

Then, you may fully accept that you were a victim of the “What you got vs what you ordered” con.

The increasing number of vendors on social media, particularly Instagram, makes it difficult for a person to determine which one is real or fake.

Fake in the sense that there are quite several Instagram vendors that provide unsatisfactory services to consumers. A good example is a food seller who delivers spoilt food or a hair vendor claiming to sell only human hair but also delivers synthetic hair to customers.

To avoid being a victim of this “con”, we provide five tips that would help you spot a fake Instagram vendor’s account.

1. No reviews

This is the most prominent of all red flags. The truth is that reviews help predict the effectiveness of a product. So, suppose an Instagram business account has no reviews on its products. It means no one buys from that vendor or people’s dissatisfaction.

What do you do in a situation where there are reviews, but they are all negative? The slang “Japa” accurately explains the best action to take.

2. Internet images

When it appears as though the vendor downloaded most of her product images from the internet, that is another red flag, waving proudly in your face. Before starting a business, many vendors are aware of the role product photography plays in communicating the authenticity of their brands. So, an Instagram business account that doesn’t have original product pictures has a high probability of delivering damaged goods.

3. Inactiveness

A prerequisite of opening an Instagram store is the ability to be active online. Don’t attempt to place an order if you notice a vendor is rarely active or responding to messages. It is because an inactive vendor equals late responses, which translates to the inability to provide an immediate solution if you have any complaints about a product.

4. The price sounds too good to be true

Let’s be sincere: we all like cheap products, but when they seem oddly cheaper, it’s obvious there is something fishy. So unless it’s Black Friday or a promo deal, try to avoid vendors that sell products at ridiculous prices. For example, you see an online vendor selling an iPhone 12 for N12,000; if that’s not red-flagged enough, we don’t know what is.

5. No face behind the brand

Behind every brand is a man or woman out to make a profit. One of the ways brands can be held accountable is by identifying an owner. If you notice that there is no post or tag relating to the owner of an Instagram business account, dismiss the thought of placing an order.

No one wants to be recognised as a fraud. However, people who put their face publicly behind an online brand would ensure that they provide only the best services to customers.

With these tips, you are ready to go out into the digital space and discern the genuine Instagram vendor from the fake ones. We hope you enjoyed reading this article?