A Pishori rice trader has shared how she narrowly avoided losing goods worth about Sh90,000 after a prospective customer allegedly attempted to trick her using a suspicious bank transfer.
The trader, identified on Facebook as Esther Pishori Rice, said the incident occurred after a man contacted her seeking to purchase 10 bags of Pishori rice.
According to Esther, the two negotiated the price before the buyer agreed to make payment through a direct transfer to her Equity Bank account.
The buyer subsequently sent what appeared to be the agreed amount. When Esther checked her account, she noticed that the available balance had increased. However, she also discovered that the customer had apparently sent an additional Sh30,000.
The buyer quickly contacted her to confirm whether the payment had arrived and asked her to refund the excess amount, claiming he needed the money urgently.
Esther, however, decided to verify the transaction before taking any action.
On checking her account more closely, she discovered that although the money was reflected in the available balance, the additional amount had not been posted to her cleared or actual balance.
She immediately became suspicious. Esther said she informed the buyer that she would not refund the alleged excess payment until the funds had fully cleared.
The buyer reportedly continued pressing her to send the money back, assuring her that the transfer would eventually reflect in the account.
“I called him and told him I couldn’t send the money back until the funds had fully cleared. He insisted that I send it immediately because he needed the money urgently, assuring me that the transfer would eventually reflect. At that point, I knew something was NOT adding up,” Esther narrated.
The situation reportedly changed after the buyer realised that she would not act under pressure. Esther said he became abusive and condescending before eventually blocking her.
For Esther, the reaction confirmed her suspicions that the transaction was not genuine.
The trader said she could still incur a bank charge of at least Sh3,000 as a result of the failed or reversed transaction. However, she considered the potential loss insignificant compared with the value of the rice she could have surrendered.
“Sh3,000 is better than losing 10 bags of Pishori rice worth about KSh 90,000,” she said.
Esther has since warned fellow business people, particularly those who handle large sums of money, to exercise caution when receiving payments and dealing with refund requests.
She advised traders not to release goods or return alleged overpayments simply because a transaction appears in an available balance or they receive a payment notification.
Instead, she urged businesses to confirm that the funds have fully cleared and are accessible before releasing merchandise or issuing refunds.
“Lesson learned: Never release goods or refund “extra money” based solely on an available balance or a payment notification. Confirm that the money has fully cleared and is actually available to you before taking any action. Especially when someone is pressuring you to refund money urgently. Business can humble you in ways you never imagined,” she warned.
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