Pay and communicate safely
Most problems between members start the same way: someone asks you to leave the platform, to pay in advance or to give a code. Here is how to recognise them and what to do.
The most common scams
They look different but follow the same pattern: urgency, trust, and a payment or a code that cannot be taken back.
- Payment in advance: a "client" or a "seller" insists on being paid fully before anything is delivered, often by Mobile Money or bank transfer.
- A fake Mobile Money receipt: you are shown a screenshot or an SMS "proving" a payment that never arrived. Always check on your own account, never on a screenshot.
- A request for a code: an SMS code, an OTP, a PIN, a Mobile Money code or your password, "to verify" or "to receive" a payment. These codes give access to your money.
- A booby-trapped link: a link to a site that looks like DivStart or your operator and asks you to sign in or pay.
Good habits
- Never share a code, a PIN or a password with anyone: DivStart will never ask you for them.
- Keep your conversations, files and agreements in DivStart messaging.
- Be wary of anyone who rushes you, offers a price that is too good, or refuses to explain.
- Check the address of a link before you open it: DivStart warns you when a link leaves the site.
- Phone numbers, e-mail addresses, external links and payment words in a message trigger a discreet warning: it is advice, the message is never blocked.
Report and block
In a conversation, open the menu of a message (the "…" button, or a long press on a phone) and choose "Report": pick a reason (harassment, scam, spam, inappropriate content, other). The team reviews it and the member is not told.
To stop someone from writing to you, use "Block this member" in the conversation or on their profile. They can no longer write to you, start a conversation, or see when you are typing or have read. You can unblock them at any time in Settings.
What DivStart covers
Secure payments on DivStart are coming soon: until they open, DivStart neither receives nor holds any money, so it can neither refund nor arbitrate a payment made between you.
Be all the more careful: never pay everything in advance to someone you do not know, prefer small payments in stages against deliverables you have checked, and keep all your conversations in DivStart messaging (it is the only record the team can examine if you report it).
Your messages stay private
The detection is automatic: nobody reads your messages. Only a mark (for instance "contains a phone number") is kept on the message, never an excerpt of its content.