Report a listing or a user
Pakstoor reads every report. We can remove a listing, suspend a user, freeze a deal, or escalate to law enforcement, but we need the basics first.
Active desks
04
Listing · User · Security · Deal
Response
By urgency
We aim to respond as quickly as possible
Triaged by
Humans
No bots, no ticket maze
Identity
Private
Not shared unless the law requires it
Report a listing
Counterfeit, restricted item, suspicious pattern, or anything that doesn't belong on Pakstoor. Include the listing URL.
abuse@pakstoor.co.za →Report a user
Someone trying to take chat off-platform, share contact details, demand cash, or impersonate another user. Include the username.
abuse@pakstoor.co.za →Report a security issue
You found a security gap, leaked data, or a way to break payment / dispute / payout flow. Good-faith research welcomed.
security@pakstoor.co.za →I have an open deal with a serious issue
Do not email evidence. Go to your deal page and open a Formal Protected Review. Funds remain protected while the case is reviewed.
How Formal Protected Review works →Process · What happens next
Every report follows the same four steps.
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Step 01
Submitted
Your report is timestamped and routed to the correct desk.
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Step 02
Triaged
A real Pakstoor team member reads it and assigns severity.
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Step 03
Investigated
Evidence reviewed; the offending account is questioned.
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Step 04
Resolved
Outcome applied; you're notified by reply email.
Outcomes · What Pakstoor can do
Six real actions, not a "we received your ticket" auto-reply.
Remove a listing that breaks the rules.
Suspend or ban an offending account.
Freeze a deal. Funds remain protected.
Trigger a Formal Protected Review.
Escalate to SAPS or law enforcement.
Issue a platform-wide warning when warranted.
Routing · Before you report
If this is what's wrong, there's a faster route.
Damage / loss
Item arrived damaged or missing
Photograph the parcel and the item, do not accept the item or complete the transaction, and open a Formal Protected Review on the deal page. →
Question
General question about a listing
Use the structured question dropdown on the listing. The seller answers directly. →
Account
Can't sign in or account locked
Use the Forgot link, or email support: we aim to respond as quickly as possible. →
Your identity is not disclosed to the person you reported
We don't share your name, email, or any identifying detail with the person you reported, unless the law requires it. Investigation happens on Pakstoor's side; the offending account hears from us, not from you.
Bad-faith reports get flagged
Pakstoor treats reporting tools as part of trust infrastructure. Reports knowingly made in bad faith (to harass a seller or win a dispute through volume) are flagged on the reporter's account.
Reports go to a real person at Pakstoor. We don't share your identity with the person you reported. Reports made in bad faith may be flagged on your account.
Engineered to remove the moments other marketplaces leave to chance.
Five active protections work together on every courier deal. This is how each one keeps you safe.
What Pakstoor stops
Common marketplace scams, and how Pakstoor stops them
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The scam
The buyer pays and the seller disappears.
How Pakstoor stops itYour payment goes into TradeSafe escrow, not to the seller. The seller is paid only after delivery is confirmed and the Inspection Window ends, or after you both confirm an in-person handover. If the seller never sends the item, you can cancel and get your money back.
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The scam
A fake proof of payment.
How Pakstoor stops itSellers never rely on a screenshot. The deal page shows “Payment secured” only once TradeSafe confirms the money is in escrow. Until then there is nothing to ship or hand over.
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The scam
A fake courier, or “my driver will collect it”.
How Pakstoor stops itPakstoor books The Courier Guy for every courier deal. The waybill and tracking come straight from the courier, and the Inspection Window only starts when the courier confirms delivery.
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The scam
“I never got it” or “I did hand it over” after a meeting.
How Pakstoor stops itBoth people confirm the handover in their own Pakstoor accounts, using the meeting code on the seller’s phone. The money is released only after both have confirmed.
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The scam
The wrong item, or a damaged one, arrives.
How Pakstoor stops itYou get a 72-hour Inspection Window after the courier confirms delivery. Open a Formal Protected Review with photos, and the funds remain protected while the evidence is reviewed.
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The scam
The seller asks you to pay them directly.
How Pakstoor stops itEvery payment on Pakstoor goes through the secure checkout into TradeSafe escrow. Pakstoor will never ask you to pay a seller directly. A request to pay outside the checkout is a warning sign: report it.
Two ways to buy or sell privately
Risky path vs protected path
Off-platform private sales leave no traceable record. Pakstoor moves payment, delivery, and communication onto auditable rails.
| Risky path | Protected path | |
|---|---|---|
| Payment | Direct EFT | Escrow partner holds funds |
| Delivery | Cash in hand | Tracked courier, or in-person with escrow |
| Communication | Off-platform chat, messaging apps, or SMS | Pakstoor chat only |
Safety rules
Seven things to keep the protection on
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Pay through escrow, even in person
Cash-in-hand swaps have no recourse. Meeting in person only through Pakstoor's in-person handover, paid in-app.
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No direct EFT
EFTs sit outside Pakstoor’s protection.
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No phone numbers in chat
Off-platform contact bypasses the audit trail.
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Tracked courier delivery
Every parcel has a tracked waybill.
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Escrow partner protection
Funds are held by the escrow partner during courier delivery and inspection, or until both of you confirm an in-person handover.
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Report suspicious listings
Use the report flow on the listing page.
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Keep the deal on Pakstoor
The protection only applies to deals completed on-platform.
Money held in escrow
Buyers never pay sellers directly. Funds sit with TradeSafe (our independent escrow partner) until delivery and inspection on a courier deal, or until both of you confirm an in-person handover.
- Pay with the payment methods offered at checkout.
- TradeSafe holds the money under its own escrow arrangements. Pakstoor does not hold it.
- On a courier deal, the seller is not paid until the courier confirms delivery and you accept the item, or the inspection window shown on your deal page ends without a Formal Protected Review.
- If a Formal Protected Review is opened, release is paused while the case is reviewed.
Courier or a protected handover.
Our biggest safety decision: tracked courier by default or, where the listing allows it, meet in person with Pakstoor's in-person handover. The buyer pays into escrow in the app and the money is released only when you both confirm. Never with cash.
"Meet me at the mall at 5pm with cash."
No tracking. No witness. No escrow. The hijack pattern.
Courier collects with live tracking, or meet with an in-app handover paid into escrow.
Listings show only the seller's city and the buyer's suburb. The courier handles addresses. If a seller allows in-person collection, payment still runs through Pakstoor escrow, but Pakstoor cannot protect the item itself.
Messages stay on Pakstoor.
Before you pay, questions go on the listing: pick one from the list, or write a short question that Pakstoor checks first. After payment, the protected order may also include order messages between buyer and seller. Either way, the conversation stays on Pakstoor, where it is screened and kept as a record.
- Phone numbers, email addresses and links are screened and blocked when detected.
- Order messages, where available, open only after payment and only between that buyer and seller. Requests to pay outside Pakstoor and messaging-app handles are blocked too, messages cannot be edited or deleted, and either side can report a message.
- Listing photos and profile photos are scanned for hidden contact details.
- Keeping the deal on Pakstoor removes the most common impersonation route: payment details and links sent outside the platform.
Sellers complete payout setup
Sellers must complete payout set-up before they can receive funds, and TradeSafe, our escrow partner, must accept their bank details before a withdrawal. Payout set-up is a payment step, not a guarantee about the seller or the item.
- Sellers add their ID number and bank details for payouts.
- TradeSafe must accept the seller's bank details before any withdrawal.
- Payouts go only to the bank account the seller set up for payouts.
- Sellers can list before payout set-up, but cannot withdraw funds until TradeSafe has accepted their bank details.
Inspection window & Protected Transaction Review
After courier-confirmed delivery, you have the 72 hour inspection window shown on the deal page to confirm everything is correct or open a Protected Review. If a Protected Review is opened within that window, release is paused while Pakstoor reviews the case.
- Opening a Protected Review pauses release and starts evidence review. It is a request for review, not an instruction to release funds.
- Courier damage, transit loss, or parcel compromise is routed into Courier & Insurance Review, a claim against the courier under its standard terms. Pakstoor does not currently provide shipping insurance. Deliveries are subject to The Courier Guy's standard terms and liability limitations. TradeSafe escrow protects payments according to Pakstoor's transaction and dispute rules, but does not insure goods against physical loss or damage. The seller is responsible for insuring the item until The Courier Guy confirms delivery.
- Return authorization is a separate decision from refund approval. Funds remain protected while the case is reviewed.
- If you confirm receipt early and there is no Formal Review, Pakstoor may instruct release of the seller payout the same day.
- In-person handovers have no inspection window: the buyer checks the item at the meeting, and the money is released only when you both confirm. Before that, Report a handover problem keeps the money frozen.
Things we promise to never do
- Email you asking for your password.
- Ask you to pay a seller outside Pakstoor.
- Share your contact details with another user.
- Charge an upfront listing fee.
- Allow firearms, alcohol, tobacco or counterfeits.
- Ask you to pay cash at a meetup outside Pakstoor.
- Ask you to ship before your own deal page shows Payment secured. A screenshot, SMS, WhatsApp message or email is never proof of payment.
Want to dig deeper?
The Trust Center has the operational details: security commitments, compliance posture, and what happens when something goes wrong.
Pakstoor Safety Standard
Funds in escrow · Tracked courier · Messages on Pakstoor · Payout Protected · Reviewable.
Five active protections work together on a courier deal. An in-person handover keeps escrow and messages, adds a joint release, and has no courier tracking or inspection window. They reduce risk; they do not remove it. Read the listing, ask before paying, and stay on-platform.
Buy Smart. Sell Safe.
Pakstoor is South Africa’s protected marketplace for private sales. Funds move only once a qualifying release condition is met, protecting both sides and not just one. That’s transaction integrity, built into every deal.