Banke Mahmoud (no real name), a Lagos State resident, has narrated how a vendor with the Instagram handle Toosharpdeclutter.ng, disappeared with her N174,500 and blocked her.

EQ found that the same number that operated Toosharpdeclutter.ng operated another vendor page on Instagram.

Mahmoud told EQ in a telephone interview that the incident happened in July.

“In July, I visited Toosharpdeclutter.ng’s Instagram page to check the household items the outfit had put up for sale,” Mahmoud told EQ on Monday.

“While checking the page, I saw a Hisense split air conditioning unit that I liked. When I sent Toosharpdeclutter.ng a WhatsApp message via the number +2348022315092, the handler said the air conditioning unit would cost me N174,500.

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Receipt of the N174,500 Payment Mahmoud Made to Ohihan

“On July 2, the handler sent me the United Bank for Africa (UBA) account number 2139093397 belonging to Raphael Marvins Ohihan and asked me to transfer the money there.

“The person even went as far as telling me that if the item got delivered and I did not like it, I could reject it and demand a refund.

“I subsequently transferred the sum to the UBA account number as requested and the person confirmed receipt.

“Toosharpdeclutter.ng then promised that the air conditioning unit would be delivered to my residence within 24 hours.”

Mahmoud told EQ that she waited for the air conditioning unit to be delivered to her address as promised by Toosharpdeclutter.ng on July 3, but she did not receive the item.

“For many days, the vendor failed to deliver the item to my house as promised,” Mahmoud said.

“This then forced me to reach out to the vendor again via WhatsApp to ask for the delivery status of my item.

“At first, the vendor said he or she would check with the brand’s logistics team and get back to me, but that never happened.

“I then reached out to the vendor a second time to demand the delivery status of the item. This time, and rather shockingly, the vendor blocked me on WhatsApp. He or she also then went on to block me on Toosharpdeclutter.ng’s Instagram page.”

Days later, Toosharpdeclutter.ng deactivated its Instagram account, making it difficult for Mahmoud to find ways to recover her money.

After Mahmoud reported the matter to EQ, it was discovered that an Instagram handle known as COMFORTDECLUTTER shared many similarities with Toosharpdeclutter.ng.

It advertised home appliances, had over 11,000 followers and more importantly, the only channel through which potential customers could reach the page was via the WhatsApp line +2348022315092.

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Comfort Declutter’s Instagram Page with the Number +2348022315092

The WhatsApp line was the same one Toosharpdeclutter.ng had used while defrauding Mahmoud.

EQ then sent a message to the WhatsApp line on Monday to ask why the air conditioner Mahmoud paid for was never delivered to her, why she was blocked on all communicating platforms afterwards; why Toosharpdeclutter.ng later deactivated its page and why the same number was now being used by Comfort Declutter to interact with potential buyers?

The operator of the WhatsApp number was online when EQ sent its questions. He or she, however, read the message without providing an answer.

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When EQ further reached out to UBA’s customer care desk on Monday to make it known that account number 2139093397 belonging to Raphael Marvins Ohihan had been used to perpetrate a N174,500 fraud, one of its officials who simply identified himself as Pius gave the following response:

This is to acknowledge the receipt of your mail regarding your Business gone bad transaction.

Please be advised to liaise with your financial institution to contact us regarding your complaints for further assistance. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience experienced in this regard.

Pius, in his response, failed to adequately address the email this reporter had sent. He also did not respond to the questions that were asked on why a fraudster would use a UBA account number to defraud someone and if proper Know Your Customer (KYC) checks were carried out by UBA on the account before it was opened.
The post Toosharpdeclutter.ng Took Customer’s N174,500, Blocked Her. It Moved to COMFORTDECLUTTER on Instagram appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.