Staying safe: tracked orders, warning signs and pressure

What keeps an order safe

Every order runs on panty.com: your order request, her confirmation, the tracking number and your "Yes, received" when the parcel arrives. Every report goes to the moderation team, a block works in both directions, and the order itself is a written record. Keep the whole order on panty.com, with the tracking number and every question in it, not on the phone or in another app, so that record exists.

Ships first: proof of shipping before payment

Sellers with the Ships first badge send proof of shipping, a tracking number or a postal receipt, before the buyer pays. For a buyer who doesn't know her yet, that is the simplest choice.

• Never pay with gift cards. Gift cards, prepaid vouchers and crypto cannot be reversed once sent, which is why scammers ask for them.
• Fake payment notifications are a known trick: the FTC's advice to sellers is not to accept a mobile payment from someone you don't know.

Start small

With someone you haven't ordered from before, start with one listing. Buyers: read her reviews first (more below). Sellers: post at a counter, keep the receipt with the tracking number, put the number in the order and mark the order as sold; the buyer confirms when the parcel arrives. The shipping guide covers proof of posting.

Six patterns, and what they look like in an order

Each pattern names the report reason that fits best. Report is on every member's profile, next to Block.

1. The payment confirmation that isn't money

What it looks like: a screenshot of a completed payment, or an email saying the money is "pending until you send the tracking number". The FTC describes exactly this: a fake notification sent in the hope that you ship before you notice. What to do: open your banking or payment app yourself, not a link someone sent you, and ship when the amount is in your account. Report reason: Illegal activity.

2. Overpayment and "send back the difference"

What it looks like: the buyer pays more than the order total, by mistake or with a story, and asks you to refund the extra. The FTC warns that a fake cheque can take weeks to be discovered, and the person who deposited it pays the bank back. What to do: refund nothing until your bank confirms the payment is final, as the French cyber-help service advises; better still, refuse any payment above the order total. Report reason: Illegal activity.

3. "Can we continue on another app?"

What it looks like: a request to move to another app, email or phone "because it's easier", often in the first order request. Off the site you can't report or block them here, and the written record of the order stays behind. What to do: say no once and keep the order on panty.com. Report reason: Spam, with a line in the note saying they asked to leave panty.com.

4. The "verification photo" and the free sample

What it looks like: a buyer who wants an extra photo "to check you're real", a picture of a document, or free panties before ordering anything. What to do: your listing photos are the only photos you owe anyone, and no buyer needs your ID. If the asking turns into pressure, turn the order down. Report reason: Abuse or harassment; Stolen photos or copyright if it's a copied profile.

5. Codes, card numbers and log-ins

What it looks like: "send me the code you just got so I can check you're real", or a request for card details "to pay you". The FTC describes buyers who ask for the verification code sent to your phone and use it to set up a Google Voice number linked to your number. What to do: never put a code, a password or card details in an order. The FBI's IC3 advises unique passphrases, multi-factor authentication and never sharing log-in details. Report reason: Illegal activity.

6. Hurry, guilt and favours

What it looks like: "pay in the next ten minutes or she sells to someone else", a sad story that ends in an advance, a discount demanded after the parcel has left. What to do: anything that has to happen before you've had time to read the order twice can wait until you have. Say no once, plainly, and stop. Report reason: Abuse or harassment if it turns into threats; Illegal activity if money is asked for up front.

For sellers: threats and sextortion

A threat to share your photos or to tell people who you are unless you pay is extortion. The UK National Crime Agency's advice to adults:

1. Stop all contact and block the person everywhere they reached you. On panty.com, report with the reason Abuse or harassment, then block the member.
2. Don't pay. The NCA says there is no guarantee paying stops the threats.
3. Keep the evidence. Don't delete anything they sent you, images or payment details; take screenshots of the order with the nickname visible. Deactivate other accounts rather than deleting them.
4. Go to the police. In the UK, call 101, or 999 if you feel at immediate risk. Fraud and cybercrime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland can also be reported to Report Fraud; in Scotland, Police Scotland takes reports on 101. In the US, report at ic3.gov. Elsewhere, your local police.
5. Stop the images spreading. StopNCII is a free tool, named by the NCA, that helps detect and remove intimate images shared online. The NCA also points UK adults to the Revenge Porn Helpline, which is free and confidential.

The FBI warns about for-profit companies that charge people in this situation for "help". Police and non-profit services help free of charge. To make all this less likely in the first place, see what can identify you.

For buyers: telling a real seller from a fake

• Check the photos. Run a listing photo through a reverse image search. If it shows up on unrelated pages, ask her about it before you pay anything.
• Read the reviews, not the stars. Buyers wrote 2,862 reviews of sellers on panty.com in the last year. A review can only be written after an order both sides confirmed, so each one stands for a parcel that arrived. Most give full marks, so read the text, not just the stars.
• Silence isn't a sign of a scam. Sellers need Premium to read and answer order requests, so some answer later. 58% of first order requests get an answer within a day. Half of all first order requests are answered within 47 min.
• Check the listing before you order. Price, postage, size and wear time are on it. How to buy safely has the full list.

Reporting and blocking on panty.com

Reports are confidential: nobody is told who sent one. Each goes to the moderation team with the reason you chose and, if you like, a few lines on what happened. The five reasons are Contact details on the profile, Spam, Abuse or harassment, Illegal activity, and Stolen photos or copyright. Pick the closest one and say the rest in the note.

Blocking works on its own or together with a report. Once you block someone, neither of you can send the other an order or anything else, and you stop seeing each other in lists. You can undo it in Settings, under Blocked.

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