When Iquo Offiong, a Lagos State resident, paid N110,500 to Farmbeec Groceries on December 5 for some food items, she never knew the vendor was a scammer.

While detailing how the incident happened, Offiong told FIJ that it was her first time as a victim of an online scam, as she had always vetted sellers’ social media pages before patronising them.

“I usually take my time before buying online. I watch out for the address, engagement and reviews. I check for credible accounts that follow the vendor I want to buy from,” she said.

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Although this Lagos resident was skeptical about Farmbeec Groceries’ location, supposedly in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, her doubts were cleared when she saw the positive reviews on the Instagram page and two credible accounts following it.

“My sister mentioned that the address on the person’s page on Instagram was not an exact location, but I was not really bothered because of other convincing things I saw on the page.”

WHO RUNS FARMBEEC?

Offiong said that when she called the phone number on Farmbeec’s Instagram page, a woman who spoke with her but never mentioned her name.

When FIJ checked the page, a woman’s picture was displayed as the profile image.

However, the account details the vendor sent to Offiong belong to a man identified as Dauda Solomon.

“The woman was cordial on the phone, so I never suspected any foul play. I placed my order for rice, oil and snails, which amounted to N110,500 including delivery fees,” she said.

“When I saw that the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) account number (0740695305) she sent had a man’s name, I drew her attention to this but she assured me that I’d get my groceries on December 6. Maybe I should have been wary of the promise that I would get the items the following day, but I wasn’t.”

BLOCKED ON INSTAGRAM FOR DEMANDING ANSWERS

The Lagos resident knew the vendor had defrauded her when she never received any phone call to notify her of the delivery on December 6.

She told FIJ that after waiting endlessly till evening, she called Farmbeec Groceries several times but the calls were not answered. She also sent numerous messages on WhatsApp but only got silence.

Afterwards, she commented on the Instagram page of the vendor, demanding to know why her goods had not been delivered despite paying for them.

“I asked her if I had been scammed and called her out for reneging on her promise. Not quite long after that, I could not access her page anymore. She had blocked me on Instagram,” she said.

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“After I could no longer access her page, my siblings checked the page and saw that she kept posting and encouraging people to buy from her.

“She also posted screenshots of reviews from so-called customers. My sister went through the page and did not even see the comment I made earlier. I guess she deletes comments that don’t sit well with her.”

OTHERS HAVE BEEN SCAMMED BY FARMBEEC GROCERIES

Offiong found out that she is only one of the many victims of Farmbeec groceries when she came across numerous complaints from aggrieved Nigerians who had been defrauded by the vendor.

“Even if I can’t get my money back, Farmbeec must be stopped so that others won’t fall victim,” Offiong told FIJ.

Michael Okaekwu, an Instagram user, accused the same vendor of disappearing with his money and blocking him on her page.

One Ohunene, who seems to have been scammed by the vendor, also shared a post on Instagram in November, where she asked if anyone knew the vendor.

While the poster did not state the reason for what seemed like an agitated request, she identified the Farmbeec vendor as Uchenna Abangwu Jane.

SCAMMER KEEPS MUTE

FIJ contacted Farmbeec via WhatsApp on Tuesday, but the vendor refused to comment on the issue.

When this reporter posed as a customer initially, the vendor was responded to all the inquiries on the cost of delivering vegetable oil to Ibadan, Oyo State.

According to the vendor, it would cost this reporter a total sum of N73,000 (including delivery fee) to get two cartons of Wesson cooking oil in Ibadan.

On when the goods would get to Ibadan, the vendor said “if you pay now, you will get them tomorrow morning”.

Although the bank details that was sent to this reporter was different from the one that was sent to Offiong, the account number also bore a man’s name – Paschal Nwoke.

However, after this reporter revealed her identity as a journalist and asked to know why Farmbeec Groceries had not delivered Offiong’s goods since December 5, the vendor went mute.