The entity warns sellers not to hand over items until confirming that the money is available in their accounts
Santo Domingo.– ProUsuario RD alerted the public about a scam method involving fake transfers or deposits that appear to have been made, but for which the money is not yet available, and therefore urged people to verify directly with financial institutions before handing over products sold through digital platforms.
The warning, disseminated through ProUsuario’s social media channels, comes at a time when the case of Emmanuel Contreras Medina has drawn public attention, whose death was preceded by a negotiation to purchase a cell phone advertised on Facebook Marketplace and in which, according to the Public Prosecutor’s file, a third party allegedly intervened through a fraudulent maneuver.
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How does the warned modality work?
ProUsuario explains that the deception can begin when a person puts an item up for sale online and an alleged buyer sends them a deposit receipt as evidence that they made the payment.
Although the transaction may initially appear as registered, the deposit could have been made via a check pending verification. During that period, the alleged buyer pressures the seller to hand over the product before the financial institution definitively confirms the availability of the funds.
Expressions such as “I paid you, give me the item,” “the money is there, it just hasn’t shown up yet,” or “I paid you and now you don’t want to give it to me” can be used, depending on the approach, to pressure the victim into handing over the merchandise without verifying that the money was actually received.
Among the main red flags are the insistence on picking up the product immediately, sending screenshots or receipts as the only evidence of payment, and attempts to make the seller feel guilty for waiting for confirmation.
For this reason, ProUsuario recommends not accepting a deposit slip or check as the sole confirmation and contacting the financial institution to verify that the funds are effectively available.
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“A deposit in transit is not a received payment: always verify before handing over”, the entity emphasized in its guidance.
An alleged scam behind the Emmanuel case
The warning gains relevance after new details emerged regarding the negotiation that preceded the assault on Emmanuel Contreras Medina, who went on July 1st to pick up an iPhone and ended up seriously injured after being struck with a bat. He subsequently passed away as a result of his injuries, according to the Public Prosecutor’s accusation.
According to the case file, Lenin Jhericop Núñez de León had posted an iPhone 15 Pro Max on Facebook Marketplace for RD$35,000. A third person, identified by the Public Prosecutor’s Office as Joan —also cited as Yoan— Manuel Jiménez Medina, allegedly contacted the seller and, at the same time, posed as the owner of the phone to offer it to Emmanuel for RD$15,000.
According to the indictment, Emmanuel transferred the RD$15,000 to an account attributed to that third person and went to the meeting convinced that the phone was already paid for. Núñez de León, on the other hand, expected to receive the money at the time of delivery. That situation allegedly caused the confusion that preceded the chase and subsequent assault.
For the death of Contreras Medina, a court imposed three months of preventive detention this Wednesday on Núñez de León, whom the Public Prosecutor’s Office charges with voluntary manslaughter. The coercive measure does not constitute a declaration of guilt, a responsibility that must be determined during the judicial process.
The file also places under scrutiny the actions of the third party who allegedly orchestrated the deception between buyer and seller, an element that is part of the circumstances being investigated by the authorities.
