Staying safe on Vikkun

Most trades go smoothly — and the ones that don’t usually break one of the rules below. Vikkun is built to make scams expensive (stakes, bonds, computed trust scores), but your habits are still the strongest protection.

For buyers

• Check the seller’s trust score and reviews before paying. A “New trader” badge means no completed deals yet — fine, but trade accordingly.
• Keep everything inside the deal. Pay only the payment details shown on the deal page, after the deal exists. Anyone pushing you to pay outside Vikkun — or before a deal is created — is removing your protection.
• Inspect before you hand over cash when meeting in person. For inter-island deals, prefer sellers with strong histories and agree the boat/courier details in chat, where they’re on record.
• Too cheap is a red flag. A new phone at half price from a brand-new account is the oldest play in the book.

For sellers

• Confirm the money landed — in your own bank or Swipe app, not a screenshot — before handing anything over. Screenshots are trivially faked.
• Don’t ship before payment clears. A deal isn’t honoured until you’ve actually been paid.
• Keep negotiation in chat. If a dispute ever happens, the chat record is your evidence.

If something goes wrong

• Open a dispute from the deal page within the dispute window — attach photos and let both sides be heard.
• Report any suspicious listing or user with the report button — our moderation team reviews every report.
• Defaulting on deals costs stakes/bonds and cuts the defaulter’s trust score — repeat offenders are banned from auctions.