Scam or No Scam?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Grant
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Grant

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I am currently advertising a bike for sale on Gumtree.
Yesterday I received a message via the Gumtree messaging service from a girl saying she was contacting me on behalf of her father. What was my best price? Please reply via a supplied email address.
I did this then the guy said he couldn't call due to work, he could send money only by Paypal and that he had a courier ready to collect the bike.
Today I had another. This time it was a guy on behalf of his father. Please contact the supplied email address. Sent email, father said he couldn't call due to work, could only pay via Paypal, had a courier ready to collect etc etc etc.

In both cases I said prove this is not a scam, no reply as yet.

So how does this work?
Get me off Gumtree messaging (can't be traced), pay by Paypal then they make a spurious claim and Paypal refund to the buyer. Meanwhile 'courier' drives off into the distance with the bike.
Or am I missing something here?
 
I cannot answer, but be cautious. If it sounds too good, it usually is. So I would have personal collection and payment by cash in bank or similar, verified by the bank. Only. And no testpilots. Not other people to collect, and then later the buyer can claim, that he or she never heard about the socalled collector, and "send" their own, when the bike is gone. No way.

Good luck.

Kind regards,
jacques
 
Grant said:
So how does this work?
Get me off Gumtree messaging (can't be traced), pay by Paypal then they make a spurious claim and Paypal refund to the buyer. Meanwhile 'courier' drives off into the distance with the bike.
Or am I missing something here?
Click to expand...

I'm with Jaques - too suspect for my liking, I'd keep my fingers off it!
 
I suspect scam.

First big clue - "reply via a supplied email address". I never do this and always work through the messaging system of the selling site. It provides good 3rd party evidence.

I agree with Jacques - Cash or 'in the bag' at the bank for the keys get handed over.

Paul
 
I'm working out how to report it to Gumtree.

Update:
I went onto the Gumtree site to report this scam but they are not interested. There are tips on how to avoid a scam and how to report it to the police but they couldn't give a toss it seems.
 
yup, my son had same email selling a ?300 VR headset,pay by Paypal, had the address as was going to ship,but he sent the email to Paypal who said it was a scam, ,lesson here is not to use Gumtree.

Sadly a few weeks later his girlfriend was scammed out of ?500 by a telephone call saying they were First direct Banking,it nearly became ?5K as they asked for more,she put down the phone,stupid I know but sent her verification codes .
 
Grant said:
I'm working out how to report it to Gumtree.

Update:
I went onto the Gumtree site to report this scam but they are not interested. There are tips on how to avoid a scam and how to report it to the police but they couldn't give a toss it seems.
Click to expand...

Hi Grant

police will not be interested either. In my law office, I received a request to to do a debt colelction of roughlya million dollars, for a client I had not met and was supposedly travelling overseas. I issued a demand, and to my astonishment receivde a response from the debtor for immediae payment of $600,000 as initial part payment. Couple of days later couriered to my office is a cheque issued from a huge securities firm in Toronto Ontario, payable to me in trust. Client then phones demanding immediate processing of net payment to him, with a huge fee payable to me for my "success". I picked up the phone and called the securities firm that had supposedly issued the cheque. They said they did not issue the cheque. Scanned and emailed them a copy of the cheque, they said it was a "perfect forgery" but they did not issue it. I called the police and offered to set up a time for the client to come pick up his net cheque and they could arrest him/her. They would not, even for an attempted $600,000 scam. Obviously i did not deposit the fraudulent cheque, but if I had not phoned the securities firm who supposedly issued the cheque, I would have been screwed for the $600,000 as there was more than enough money (other peoples money) in the trust account to cover the net cheque I would have been issuing and I would have been held liable. Can't trust anyone you don't know, and can't trust everyone you think you do know, bloody hell.

In your example, cash in hand, not PayPal, etc, although now we are being told CoVid19 may be transmitted on cash, have to disinfect any cash before handling ::)

Paul LeClair
 
There are some REALLY clever lowlife thieves out there who steal in very clever ways ... and some REALLY stupid people who allow themselves to be taken by other thieves who aren't even all that smart.

The IT world has completely changed the way we transact. In the 'old days' it would have been a lot harder to steal away someone's moto.

Paul, as a lawyer, I guess they targeted you because they know the system. Fortunately you were astute enough to double check. Seems a no-brainer, as I wouldn't trust a piece of paper (the cheque) for that amount in a fit of Sundays.
 
Grant said:
So how does this work?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how the scammer actually gets you to part with money, but I've had similar proposals when I've offered stuff for sale on Gumtree.

A few years back I advertised an old Mitsubishi van on Gumtree, and some guy sent me a text message from Indonesia saying he'd pay more than the asking price. WTF?
Needless to say it smelled very dodgy and I ignored him. A couple of days later another tosser did the same. The world is full of arseholes.
 
My son witnessed 'an offense' 2 months ago. The Bobbies called the other night to basically say 'look mate we're busy policing  the virus so we need to let this drop if that's ok by your son.  If you're going to break the law, it seems now is an opportune moment to do so.....
 
I never sold a bike (or anything else) via Paypal to an unknown source. I only sell against cash or bank transfers that the buyer can not claim money back. Has saved me from lots of trouble so far...
 
Dellortoman said:
I'm not sure how the scammer actually gets you to part with money ..
Click to expand...

They pay you via PayPal.  You send the goods.  They then issue a claim to PayPal alleging defective goods, goods not received, whatever.  PayPal refunds them their money ...

PayPal are wise to this now; but several auction sites who use other systems of payment aren't.  Vinted here in France has a reputation for being one such.
 
Hi Paul  , I dont know what your kyc procedure is, but maybe review it before accepting intructions from a client you dont know , never met, etc, and presumably not known to your clients or firm?
You should see what we go through to check the source of any funds being used, (well in the old  pre virus days! ) for real estate purchases....
 
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