Some men have reportedly been caught in Lagos while trying to buy a foreign-used 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 Coupe, valued at over ₦45 million, with a fake Bitcoin payment alert popularly known as “flash coin.”

According to reports circulating on social media, the suspects approached a car dealer to buy the vehicle and attempted to pay with what appeared to be a Bitcoin transfer. Images shared online show two young men, one of them in handcuffs, standing beside parked cars, alongside a close-up of the red Mercedes.

The reports did not give the name of the dealership, the location of the arrest, or the identities of the suspects. They also did not say which security agency made the arrest, and no police statement has been published yet.

The incident has led to fresh warnings to car dealers to stay alert, especially during the ember months, when demand for vehicles rises and sellers are said to be more exposed to fraudsters.

Dealers are reportedly being targeted by individuals who use fraudulent payment methods to acquire vehicles.

Flash coin is not a separate cryptocurrency. It is a trick in which fake or unconfirmed crypto transactions briefly appear in a recipient’s wallet or on a screen, then vanish because the network never validated them. Fraudsters rely on this to convince a seller that payment has been made, so that goods are released before the transfer is confirmed.

The scam is common in peer-to-peer and over-the-counter deals, where sellers often feel pressured to act quickly. The standard advice is to wait for full network confirmation, or to insist on a verified bank transfer, before handing over any goods.

The case adds to a growing list of fake-payment scams in Lagos, where fraudsters have also used forged bank transfer alerts to buy phones and other items. Dealers handling high-value items, such as luxury cars, are urged to verify every payment independently and to avoid releasing keys or documents on the strength of a screenshot or an app notification.