Tweet of the Week #64: Twitter Warns of New Scam On Mercari

One simply does not buy stuff online without the risk of payment fraud. But even if you take all the care in the world, a split second is still enough to fall into a scam artist’s net.

Mercari x Paidy = Beware!

Japan’s largest community marketplace app, Mercari, boasts a whopping 14 million monthly users. Wherever you are in Japan, you’re just a finger tap away from finding your new oven and emptying your closet of stuff you don’t need. 

But just like for any other marketplace, you’ve got to be on the lookout for scammers. It’s a painful lesson learned earlier this week by @carjapans5 who warned people of suspicious bills that could come their way after a completed purchase of a product on Mercari. 

メルカリで商品購入

無事に商品が届いたと勘違いしてメルカリ支払い完了

後日、家電屋からも請求がくる

購入者の情報で後払い通販を受け取らせ、メルカリで金を盗む手口

気付いた時には出品者(犯人)ドロン

こんな詐欺が普通に落ちてますよ
途中で気付いて良かったー#メルカリ #詐欺 #paidy pic.twitter.com/g4CdVZQl10

— caa (@carjapan5) January 10, 2020

メルカリで商品購入（しょうひんこうにゅう）））

無事（ぶじ）に商品が届（とど）いたと勘違（かんちが）いしてメルカリ支払（しはら）い完了（かんりょう）

後日（ごじつ）、家電屋（かでんや）からも請求（せいきゅう）がくる

購入者（こうにゅうしゃ）の情報（じょうほう）で後払（あとばら）い通販（つうはん）を受（う）け取（と）らせ、メルカリで金（かね）を盗（ぬす）む手口（てぐち）

気付（きづ）いた時（とき）には出品者（しゅっぴんしゃ）(犯人（はんにん）（)ドロン

こんな詐欺（さぎ）が普通（ふつう）に落（お）ちてますよ

途中（とちゅう）で気付いて良（よ）かったー

#メルカリ

#詐欺 #paidy

= Buying a product on Mercari:

I assumed the product was normally delivered and completed my payment on Mercari. 

The next day, a bill came from a home appliance store.

This is a scam to steal money through Mercari, using buyer’s information and ordering products through postage-paid mail order. 

I realized the seller was a criminal. 

This type of scam is really easy to fall into and I’m glad I realized what was happening halfway through. 

Wait a minute, how did that happen? Let’s rewind back a few steps. 

The seller, or more accurately pretending-to-be seller, posted an appealing ad for a brand new piece of unopened merchandise. So far so good for the buyer, believing they’re getting a proper bargain.

They contact the seller and make their purchase thus giving out precious information such as name, address and phone number. This information is enough for Paidy, a payment system that enables customers to pay for their purchases on credit without using a credit card. Payments made through Paidy are settled later at the convenience store. So, it’s an easy way for scammers to purchase items but send the bill to another person to be paid later.

So, to recap, the seller got money for a phone they weren’t actually selling and the buyer ended up with two bills in total. Ouch. 

“To notice” is to be safe

Both the verb 気付（きづ）く and the expression 気（き）が付（つ）くtranslate as “to notice” or “to realize,” and are interchangeable. That being said the latter has a broader meaning and usage. 

When using the verb 気付く, the thing you noticed or realized, is marked with the particle に.

• 危険（きけん）に気づきませんでした。= I didn’t realize the danger.

The same goes with the expression 気がつく but in case of a verb, you’ll add こと before に.

Verb casual form + ことに気がつく

• スマホを落（お）としたことに気がつきませんでした。= I didn’t realize I dropped my phone. 

Noun + に気がつく

• 自分の誤（あやま）りに気がつく= To realize one’s mistake

Finally, a good expression to know is よく気が付く as in よく気が付く人（ひと） to mean a person who is quick to notice or is attentive. 

Vocabulary

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