It starts with what looks like a customer mistake.
Someone contacts you, places an order, and transfers more than the agreed amount. They apologize, explain it was an error, and politely ask you to refund the difference before they collect their order or before you begin their service.
You send the refund. They collect. And then days later — sometimes weeks later — their original payment reverses out of your account. You are now missing both the goods or service you provided and the refund you sent.
This is the overpayment scam. And it is destroying Nigerian small businesses at a scale that most people never talk about.
They did not accidentally send too much. They sent exactly enough to make you feel obligated to send money back.
How the Overpayment Scam Works Step by Step
Step 1 — The Contact A buyer reaches out showing genuine interest in your product or service. They negotiate normally, agree to a price, and seem like a perfectly legitimate customer.
Step 2 — The Overpayment They make a payment — sometimes real, sometimes fake — that exceeds your agreed price. A product that costs ₦15,000 receives a transfer of ₦25,000. A service quoted at ₦50,000 receives ₦80,000.
Step 3 — The Request They immediately contact you. "Sorry, I mistakenly sent too much. Please send back the extra ₦10,000 and I'll come pick up my order." The apology sounds genuine. The request sounds reasonable. You feel obligated.
Step 4 — You Refund You send back the difference. The customer collects their goods or receives their service. Everything seems fine.
Step 5 — The Reversal Days or weeks later, the original payment reverses. This happens because the original transfer was made using a stolen card, a compromised bank account, or a fraudulent transaction that the real account owner has now disputed. The bank reverses the charge — and takes the money back from your account.
You are now short the refund you sent plus the value of whatever you provided.
Step 6 — Silence The customer is unreachable. Their number is switched off. Their social media accounts are deleted or were fake from the beginning.
Why the Reversal Happens
Understanding why payments reverse is critical to understanding this scam.
When someone pays you using a stolen debit card or a compromised bank account, the real owner of that account will eventually notice and report the unauthorized transaction to their bank. The bank investigates and reverses the charge — meaning they pull the money back from your account and return it to the real account owner.
This process can take anywhere from 24 hours to 30 days depending on the bank and the nature of the dispute. Scammers exploit this window deliberately. They know the reversal is coming. They need you to send them real money — your money — before it arrives.
The overpayment request is the mechanism. By asking for a refund of the "difference," they convert a transaction that will eventually reverse into immediate, untraceable cash in their hands.
Who This Scam Targets
Sir Brown AD has documented this scam affecting fashion designers receiving deposits for custom orders, phone and electronics sellers, cake and food vendors taking advance orders, freelance designers and developers receiving project deposits, and POS operators who process customer transactions.
Essentially — any business that receives transfers and handles physical goods or services is a target.
The Signs You Are Being Set Up
The overpayment is always a round, convenient number.
Real accidental overpayments are messy — ₦15,750 when you quoted ₦12,000. Scam overpayments are clean — ₦25,000 when you quoted ₦15,000, with a "please return ₦10,000" request already prepared.
They are unusually calm about the mistake.
Someone who genuinely sent extra money to a stranger is anxious. Scammers are relaxed because they know the original payment cost them nothing.
They want the refund sent to a different number or account.
"Please send the refund to my wife's account" or "send it to this number" is a serious red flag. Even if the refund goes to the same account, the scam still works — but a different destination is a clear signal.
They push you to refund before you've confirmed the original payment has fully settled.
Legitimate overpayments do not require urgency. Scams always do.
What Sir Brown AD Recommends
Never refund before a payment has fully settled and cleared. For card payments and some fintech transfers, settlement can take 24 to 72 hours. A payment appearing in your account is not the same as a payment that has fully cleared and cannot be reversed. When in doubt, wait.
Contact your bank before refunding any overpayment. Call your bank's customer service line, explain the situation, and ask whether the received payment is fully settled and non-reversible. This one step can save you enormous loss.
Establish a written refund policy. Any overpayment refunds are processed after 5 to 7 business days. Put this on your page. State it clearly when taking orders. It protects you and filters out scammers who need the refund quickly.
If something feels wrong, it probably is. Trust your instincts. A customer who is unusually calm about sending you extra money, who has a refund request already prepared, and who wants the money back quickly is not a confused customer. They are running a script.
Conclusion
The overpayment scam works because it exploits your honesty. You received money that isn't yours and you want to do the right thing by returning it. Scammers understand Nigerian business culture and they use your integrity against you.
Sir Brown AD wants you to protect that integrity by protecting your business first. Verify before you refund. Wait before you release. And never let urgency override your process.
A legitimate customer can wait. A scammer cannot.
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