Chrismanbass Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) Hi guys just found out that i was nearly scammed by this advert on gumtree [url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/mackie-srm350-v2-black-active-powered-pa-speakers-3/1002227910"]http://www.gumtree.c...rs-3/1002227910[/url] the price was a little too good to be true anyway however i decided to pursue it a bit further to see where it lead the seller claimed that "unfortunately i've been called into work for the rest of this week however i can send them via courier free from work" so i agreed as no money had changed hands yet i then got a nice official looking email from parcelforce worldwide with a tracking number and asking me to put £280 on a ukash voucher so that the courier driver could make the transfer of funds once i had recieved the goods at this point i was very sceptical and so i called parcel force to run the tracking number by them and was told for definate at this point it was a scam what they do is take the voucher numbers from the confirmation email you send them and redeem the money and you never see your items this ones new to me so i thought a heads up was in order Edited October 31, 2012 by Chrismanbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jigster Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Thanks for posting this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) You can see an up-to-date list of online frauds at [url="http://actionfraud.org.uk/node/298"]Action Fraud[/url]. EDIT - You can also report fraud on the site. Edited October 31, 2012 by JapanAxe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrismanbass Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 cheers thats a useful site Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTaff Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) Lazy scammers, they just ripped the pics & description from this ebay ad [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mackie-SRM350-V2-BLACK-Active-Powered-PA-Speakers-3-/170927378969?pt=UK_ConElec_SpeakersPASystems_RL&hash=item27cc10d219&nma=true&si=4qSG5f%2B%2BY3Kr4MxgZ6nlXDBh7aA%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=p2047675.l2557[/url] Edited October 31, 2012 by MrTaff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 My rule of thumb is if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. I also always deal in cash and in person when on gumtree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrismanbass Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 yeh i think thats my approach from now on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 The few Gumtree ads I’ve put up have a 100% rate of attracting scammers. It is always so obvious. I wouldn't bother with Gumtree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmonkey Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I reported the same here earlier this year. That time a cheap Jazz. Same blx working, could arrange free courier. Seems the next stage is to try get you to pay via some kind of voucher. Reported to Gumtree etc. [email="Tw@ts"]Tw@ts[/email] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Had a run in with (probably) the same person a few weeks ago over an advert for a Gibbo Les Paul Traditional. Seller contacted me via an internet SMS with no phone number attached, quoting an email address to use for communicaion. I was suspicious and googled the email address which turned up a forum thread. Turns out this person has had all kinds advertised, not just music gear, and had rinsed a number of people for hundreds of quid after reeling off crap excuses for not meeting in person and asking payment through UKASH. I've had a fair few good experiences on Gumtree, including buying stuff via Paypal and getting it delivered. The scammers are usually easy to spot and ignore so long as you've got your wits about you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonno1981 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I had a similar thing a few weeks ago. I saw ad for a tele at a silly price with a mobile number attached. - Called it and left a message and I got this a text and then email through a day later: [b]Don't know if it's been long since you've emailed, I've been out so couldn't follow up on my text message. Can't promise anything but visiting my mum shortly, wouldn't mind making a drop off . If you'll send me your postcode I can check out on my satnav the distance to yours. Reasonable price and accurate description, it's worth the money, no bad surprises. I won't go any lower. Can be reached on 07973=425=052 low signal strength area but check emails regularly. Ta, Stacey. P.S. Will take cash only.[/b] I then tried to arrange to meet up locally but the seller never confirmed, I then got this message: [b]Unfortunately I've just got called into the office (i get sent countrywide with less than 24hrs notice) so very busy till next week. Back at work we have some shipments for large items with parcelforce all week long. Just thought it would save you time and hassle if I'll send it along with them free of charge company benefits . I asked around and it seems you can pay cash upon delivery/inspection. It's quite simple since they're able to wait for you to check it out, if not as described they can just void the shipment with no extra charge. If that's alright with you I'll need a name, address, contact number and also date&time suitable for the delivery. Working long hours so If you want to pop in and pick it up you'll have to wait till next week or so when hopefully I'll get my head around Let me know either way. Stacey.[/b] The english is well written and fairly believable but is definitely a scam. Around half of all the adverts I see on gumtree are clearly scams or turn out to be fake. There are some genuine sellers out there but ALWAYS call the person and speak to them to get a feel for whether they are trying to rip you off and ideally meet them to examine the goods in person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 If it turns out to be a scam, give them the run around as much as you can, if everyone does that, it will become not worth the time for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kongo Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1351709931' post='1854511'] If it turns out to be a scam, give them the run around as much as you can, if everyone does that, it will become not worth the time for them. [/quote] Scam trolling...I like this idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1351709931' post='1854511'] If it turns out to be a scam, give them the run around as much as you can, if everyone does that, it will become not worth the time for them. [/quote] If you are going to do this, use a separate email address because you will attract a blizzard of spam! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrismanbass Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 [quote name='jonno1981' timestamp='1351709546' post='1854506'] I had a similar thing a few weeks ago. I saw ad for a tele at a silly price with a mobile number attached. - Called it and left a message and I got this a text and then email through a day later: [b]Don't know if it's been long since you've emailed, I've been out so couldn't follow up on my text message. Can't promise anything but visiting my mum shortly, wouldn't mind making a drop off . If you'll send me your postcode I can check out on my satnav the distance to yours. Reasonable price and accurate description, it's worth the money, no bad surprises. I won't go any lower. Can be reached on 07973=425=052 low signal strength area but check emails regularly. Ta, Stacey. P.S. Will take cash only.[/b] I then tried to arrange to meet up locally but the seller never confirmed, I then got this message: [b]Unfortunately I've just got called into the office (i get sent countrywide with less than 24hrs notice) so very busy till next week. Back at work we have some shipments for large items with parcelforce all week long. Just thought it would save you time and hassle if I'll send it along with them free of charge company benefits . I asked around and it seems you can pay cash upon delivery/inspection. It's quite simple since they're able to wait for you to check it out, if not as described they can just void the shipment with no extra charge. If that's alright with you I'll need a name, address, contact number and also date&time suitable for the delivery. Working long hours so If you want to pop in and pick it up you'll have to wait till next week or so when hopefully I'll get my head around Let me know either way. Stacey.[/b] The english is well written and fairly believable but is definitely a scam. Around half of all the adverts I see on gumtree are clearly scams or turn out to be fake. There are some genuine sellers out there but ALWAYS call the person and speak to them to get a feel for whether they are trying to rip you off and ideally meet them to examine the goods in person. [/quote] yeh thats the exact same transcript as i got more or less might give them the run around for a little while just for a laugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popoctave Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Bought a bit of gumtree & preloved, but if you can't speak to someone or get a landline number and a psyhical address to collect from I'd say don't touch it with a barge pole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin spangles Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 I am almost embarrassed to admit that this exact type of Scam happened to me and I bought it 'hook line and sinker'. It was for an AKG 414 mic. The price was too good to be true. Normally I'd be awake to this sort of scam but I was at a Wedding reception when I was conducting the transaction so I was a bit distracted and had a beer or two or three. I kept all the receipts including the UKash and all the emails and messages and sent them to Gumtree but to no avail. If you do buy from Gumtree best to meet the person you are dealing with. Lesson learnt! Thanks for sharing this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrismanbass Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 [quote name='marvin spangles' timestamp='1351731572' post='1854845'] I am almost embarrassed to admit that this exact type of Scam happened to me and I bought it 'hook line and sinker'. It was for an AKG 414 mic. The price was too good to be true. Normally I'd be awake to this sort of scam but I was at a Wedding reception when I was conducting the transaction so I was a bit distracted and had a beer or two or three. I kept all the receipts including the UKash and all the emails and messages and sent them to Gumtree but to no avail. If you do buy from Gumtree best to meet the person you are dealing with. Lesson learnt! Thanks for sharing this post. [/quote] dont worry mate if it was't for a friends intuition i would've probably done the same thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarebear68 Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 [quote name='Chrismanbass' timestamp='1351691624' post='1854233'] Hi guys just found out that i was nearly scammed by this advert on gumtree [url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/mackie-srm350-v2-black-active-powered-pa-speakers-3/1002227910"]http://www.gumtree.c...rs-3/1002227910[/url] the price was a little too good to be true anyway however i decided to pursue it a bit further to see where it lead the seller claimed that "unfortunately i've been called into work for the rest of this week however i can send them via courier free from work" so i agreed as no money had changed hands yet i then got a nice official looking email from parcelforce worldwide with a tracking number and asking me to put £280 on a ukash voucher so that the courier driver could make the transfer of funds once i had recieved the goods at this point i was very sceptical and so i called parcel force to run the tracking number by them and was told for definate at this point it was a scam what they do is take the voucher numbers from the confirmation email you send them and redeem the money and you never see your items this ones new to me so i thought a heads up was in order [/quote] My wife works on a fraud helpline - apparently this is quite a common occurrence. Fraudsters target Gumtree/Ebay/Autotrader etc - basically anywhere that items can be bought or sold. UKash can only be redeemed on specific sites that have registered with UKash. The best thing to do is to advise the sites (Gumtree etc) about the advert being fraudulent and then call Action Fraud on 0300 2342040 or look on the website... www.actionfraud.police.uk ... they'll take a report so all the data can be collated and sent to the relevant authority (they can't help you get money back though). Just give them as much detail as you can - eg reference numbers for the advert etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.