Classifieds scams in Serbia: how to spot a fraudster in 2026

Classifieds scams in Serbia follow a handful of scripts: a link asking for your card details, a move to Viber, a deposit for an item that doesn’t exist. Here’s how to spot them and what to do if it has already happened.

Classifieds scams in Serbia are rarely clever. Almost every one comes down to two things: you send money up front, or you type your card details into a page you reached through a link. Whether it’s KupujemProdajem, Facebook Marketplace or any other site, the scripts are the same. Serbia’s National CERT, the National Bank of Serbia (Narodna banka Srbije) and the Serbian Post (Pošta Srbije) have been warning about them for years. Below are the most common schemes, the signs of a scammer and what to do if you’ve been caught.

The fake payment link: “the buyer has already paid”

This is the most common scam aimed at sellers. You post an ad and soon a “buyer” gets in touch, usually on Viber or WhatsApp, often from a foreign number and in broken Serbian. They only ask whether the item is still available. Then they say they’ve already paid “through the app” or that a courier will collect the parcel, and send a link so you can “confirm the payment”.

The link opens a page that looks like a courier service or the classifieds site itself. It asks for your card number, expiry date and CVV, sometimes also the code your bank sends by SMS. The National CERT describes what happens next: once you enter the details and pass on the codes, every available dinar is taken from your account and the “buyer” goes silent. The Serbian Post specifically warned about a fake page misusing the Post Express name and logo, aimed precisely at users of buy-and-sell sites.

Moving the chat to Viber, WhatsApp or Telegram

Why do scammers push so hard to move the conversation to a messenger? In the site’s chat there’s a record and the account can be reported; in a messenger there isn’t. KupujemProdajem’s own safety tips name it as a warning sign when someone insists on your phone number and on switching to Viber or WhatsApp, and when the contact is abroad and writes in English or poor Serbian. A phone call itself is fine; an unknown number plus pressure plus a link is not.

A deposit for an item that doesn’t exist

This is the main scam aimed at buyers. The ad is tempting: a phone or bike well below market price, “urgent sale”. The seller can’t meet in person but will ship by courier as soon as you pay part or all of the price “to reserve it”. After the transfer they disappear.

Ask for a fresh photo of the item next to a sheet of paper with today’s date, or a short video call. If a private seller wants money up front and avoids meeting, walk away. KupujemProdajem gives the same advice.

For expensive items, check the goods too: there’s a checklist for buying a used iPhone in Serbia and a guide to buying a used car in Serbia.

Fake payment screenshots and the “overpayment” trick

The buyer sends a screenshot of a “completed transfer” from their e-banking app and asks you to hand the item to a courier right away. A screenshot is easy to fake and proves nothing. Ship only once you can see the money in your own account, in your own banking app. If someone “paid too much by mistake” and wants the difference back, return nothing until your bank confirms the money was credited.

Rental flats with a deposit up front

With apartment rentals the script is the same as the deposit scam: nice photos, rent below average and an “owner” who happens to be abroad. The keys or a viewing come only after you transfer the deposit and first month’s rent. Then the ad vanishes.

• Pay nothing before you have seen the flat from the inside in person;
• ask for ID and proof that the person owns the flat or is authorised to let it (for example the property title extract, list nepokretnosti, or a power of attorney);
• pay the deposit only against a signed lease (ugovor o zakupu) and a written receipt;
• reverse-search the photos: scammers copy other people’s listings.

Buying safely: meet in person or pay cash on delivery

The safest deal is still face to face: you see the item, test it and pay on the spot. Meet in daylight in a busy public place, and bring someone along for expensive electronics.

If meeting isn’t possible, cash on delivery (plaćanje pouzećem, an otkupna pošiljka) is far better than a deposit: you hand the money to the courier only when the parcel arrives, and the courier then pays the seller. Know the limit of this protection, though: parcels are normally handed over sealed. AKS’s general terms state outright that a parcel can’t be opened to check its contents at the recipient’s request. So cash on delivery protects you from a seller who takes the money and vanishes, not from a box with the wrong item inside.

• Before shipping, ask the seller for fresh photos and the serial number (the IMEI for a phone);
• ask the courier which delivery options it offers, because terms differ from service to service;
• if the parcel is damaged or suspiciously light, refuse it;
• film the unboxing, from the sealed box to the device switched on: that’s your evidence if there’s a dispute.

How to spot a scammer before you agree to anything

• The price is well below market with no clear reason;
• the profile is new, with no reviews and no listing history, yet sells something expensive;
• they rush you: “I have three other buyers, pay now”;
• they avoid meeting and video calls;
• they ask for card details, SMS codes or passwords, which is always a scam;
• the link they send doesn’t lead to an official domain, so check the address before you tap.

Reviews and history are the best filter. On KupujemProdajem, look at ratings and the verified account badge; our KupujemProdajem guide explains how the site works. On Ovdix, buyer and seller leave a rating and review after a completed deal and the rating shows on the profile; you can report a suspicious ad or user and block a user. Keep the conversation in the site’s chat as long as you can. If you’re selling, see also how to sell things online fast in Serbia.

Been scammed? What to do right away

• If you entered card details, call your bank immediately and block the card. According to a National Bank of Serbia warning, once you have notified the bank of the misuse, the risk of further transactions passes to the bank that issued the card;
• keep the evidence: screenshots of the chat, the phone number, the link, the ad and payment confirmations;
• report it to the police, at the nearest station or online through the Interior Ministry’s national platform Sajber straža, built for reporting cybercrime;
• report the ad and the user to the site;
• forward fake messages in the name of the Serbian Post or Post Express to it.bezbednost@posta.rs, and card misuse can also be reported to the National CERT through the form at cert.rs.

Online crime in Serbia is handled by the police unit for high-tech crime (Služba za borbu protiv visokotehnološkog kriminala) and the Special Prosecutor’s Office for High-Tech Crime within the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade. Report early and don’t delete the chat, even after the scammer goes quiet.