I Got Scammed on Gumtree but I Have Scammer's Address. What to Do?

LDienk on 22/08/2017 - 17:11
Last edited 22/08/2017 - 18:47 by 1 other user

Hello guys. Long story short:

I transferred $310 to person, to deliver to me a TV 55 inch 4k (yes, I know, dumb behaviour).

This person should deliver the TV 2 days after what never happen. I only had his name, number account and phone number.

2 days after he reposted the TV and sell it to someone else.

After an exhaustive searching on internet I found his facebook, relatives and I found his address (around 25 km from my house).

Now that I have everything, what would you do if you were in my shoes?

General Discussion

Related Stores

Gumtree
Gumtree

Comments

      • Shwayne on 23/08/2017 - 15:10

        1v1 you on the top of the dome.

  • BertieBrown on 23/08/2017 - 15:09

    Do schools incorporate financial planning and money management into their curriculum's these days?

    It occurs to me that education is the key here to stop this sort of malarkey.

    It's not that I don't feel sorry for the OP, you want to believe in the common decency of people but this is really one of those too good to be true stories.

  • Shwayne on 23/08/2017 - 15:10
    -2

    Go to the bank, explain the situation, reverse the transaction.

    • jelko on 24/08/2017 - 15:17
      +1

      LOL

  • phluffed on 23/08/2017 - 15:14
    +1

    A friend was scammed by someone interstate. Went to police and reported it. Eventually the scammer contacted my friend through his (scammers) lawyer with a formal apology and a 3 part payment contract. Turns out, he had been taken to court and this was the deal struck.

    It helps when the scammer is stupid enough to use his real drivers licence, bank details, mobile phone, and then argues he tried to drop it off at a pre-arranged location which just happens to be my friends work with full CCTV footage showing no attempt was made.

  • sghetti on 23/08/2017 - 15:26
    +7

    Double down! Send another $310 to his account. He might be kind enough to send the TV this time?

    • Dienk on 23/08/2017 - 15:45

      You are so funny

    • hogwarts on 27/08/2017 - 11:43

      Nice try scammer

  • [Deactivated] on 23/08/2017 - 15:41
    +8

    Look at it this way - if the address is confirmed to be real, you have bought yourself guilt free stress relief for some time to come.

    $310 is peanuts for stress relief. People pay much more for fine dining, meals, concerts, hoo.. you get the point.

    Every time you need a punching bag, drop a glitter bomb in his mail box. Use his mailing address to sign up to crap that accrues junk mail. Used up your general waste bin for the week? Have some rotten fish you wish not dispose in your own bin? Need a fruit tree from someone's front lawn?

    Better still, post up the address here, we can all use the facilities you have just paid for.

  • pantsparty on 23/08/2017 - 16:08
    +2

    There has been a whole lot of conversation here. The lesson is always pay cash on delivery if the guy is bringing it to your house!

  • centrelink on 23/08/2017 - 16:18

    I reckon if you just turn up to their house and demanded the tv or the money back, they would give in.

  • cameldownunder on 23/08/2017 - 16:58
    +2

    Buy cheap Chinese imitation of expensive Bose / Sennheiser Headphones, wait till he comes home, pretend to be a seller coming back from a convention, and you don't want to take it back to your office, that's why you are selling it so cheap. Sell him 4 headphones at $100.

  • Shiny Mew on 23/08/2017 - 17:06
    +10

    Burn his house to the ground, preferably with him in it. There is no need for scammers in this world.

  • fruxo on 23/08/2017 - 17:17
    +7

    Just for a different perspective, we went to police after my wife bought cancelled concert tickets. I didn't think there was much point as they have better things to do, but they were surprisingly helpful.

    They basically told us that there is not much they can do to actually force the payments, but that they'd try. They paid him a visit (or several, I really have no idea) and eventually a payment plan was set up and we ended up getting all the money back. Probably took about 6 months until we heard back, but still. I thought there was exactly 0% chance of getting any of that money back, so that shows how much i know.

    In other words, going to police and making your case never hurts. They might surprise you and be more helpful than you'd think.

    FOOTNOTE: I know that privately buying second hand concert tickets is silly and usually against terms and conditions as well, but that's a different discussion. The concert was sold out and my wife was naive. It happens.

  • JUSTINO on 23/08/2017 - 17:45

    Tell the cops

  • spoonmugen on 23/08/2017 - 18:11
    +4

    you have his facebook…

    are you bigger than him?
    are your mates bigger than his mates?

    • Dienk on 23/08/2017 - 18:14

      1) yes
      2) I dont know

      • spoonmugen on 23/08/2017 - 18:38
        +1

        if i was your position then
        report to gumtree/police
        then pay him a visit…

    • [Deactivated] on 24/08/2017 - 16:33
      +6

      girth or length?

  • ian1095 on 23/08/2017 - 18:45
    +2

    Happened to me once…

    Read about this service called Pay 'n' Hold here (https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/325554)

    • The seller does not receive the deposit unless the buyer release the deposit via a verification code.
    • Also the site will not allow seller to request from multiple person for the same item, so it reduces scam.

    Link is: https://paynhold.com

    As a buyer, I will ask the seller to use that service if I am buying something, as I know the seller won't get the deposit transferred to their account, unless I release it.

    • enzioFirenze on 26/08/2017 - 13:43
      +1

      what if the buyer was a scammer though?

      • miastalker on 04/09/2017 - 07:44

        After seeing this thread I thought I'd try out the service for myself. I found it worked quite well from a seller's perspective. Sold a phone and the first buyer to respond placed a deposit without any troubles. Then the pressure was off as I was sure he was going to pick it up. It looks like they use PayPal to take the deposit and transferred to my PayPal account. That is probably how they know who the buyer is. I assume if buyer was a scammer that information could have helped me with the police.

  • backpaqer on 23/08/2017 - 19:18
    +2

    Superglue and door locks make an interesting combination. Sitting in your car down the street watching the frustration set in…priceless.

  • dirtykent on 23/08/2017 - 20:43
    +2

    hard to believe you got scammed by a stranger on the internet

    • Cheeper on 24/08/2017 - 14:29

      I thought this might happen one day…

      • altomic on 30/08/2017 - 00:19
        +1

        i'm never using the internet again.

  • noise36 on 23/08/2017 - 21:04

    $310 life lesson, pretty cheap really.

    EDIT: Then I read the post where you think he actually sold it to the next person…lol wtf?????

    • Dienk on 24/08/2017 - 08:47

      His mother confirmed it.

      • malouphix on 06/09/2017 - 18:14

        She's in on the scam too.

  • Punda on 23/08/2017 - 21:57

    Try and message him and try get an admission. Then use it in small claims court.

  • randomusername2017 on 23/08/2017 - 22:25
    +1

    Link to a cached copy of the original ad?
    Link to sellers profile?

    all that commented should donate $1 to the op for the entertainment value ;P

  • paulaus on 23/08/2017 - 22:29
    +1

    Write scammer in big letters in paint stripper all over his car.

    • ruddiger7 on 24/08/2017 - 15:09

      I am imagining a Big Lebowski situation where Walter damages the neighbours car instead.

  • Godric on 23/08/2017 - 22:35

    How did this reach hot topic smh

  • ozeebee on 23/08/2017 - 22:39
    +4

    Visit all public toilets you can find all over the country and inside the stalls write down the blokes full name, number, full address and any other personal info you have along with "Looking for yummy c*ck".

    You're never getting your money back so might as well be petty and get revenge any way you can.

    • strangeloops66 on 24/08/2017 - 00:16
      +8

      No one ever responds to my toilet block posts…

  • Hirolol on 23/08/2017 - 23:53
    -5

    Haha
    It's funny how people still do stupid things like this.
    I like it how he calls it getting scammed when really it's just him making bad decisions.

    Just go to his house and ask for your money back.

    • eug on 24/08/2017 - 00:05
      +3

      I like it how he calls it getting scammed when really it's just him making bad decisions.

      He did something in good faith, and the other party cheated him. So yes, he got scammed. There are good people out there, he just happened to come across a bad one.

      • Cheeper on 24/08/2017 - 14:28

        Disassembled and personally delivered an item without payment.
        Thats not a bad decision… that is just downright ..

  • rack on 24/08/2017 - 00:28

    Call a scary looking tradie pretending to be the scammer and ask him to come over (to the scammers address) to fix something. Sit outside in your car watching. Bet that tradie will get his callout fee out of him.

    Better call multiple scary looking tradies.

  • Bluberry on 24/08/2017 - 00:32
    +6

    Call Roboguy. He knows a few things about scamming.

  • Clementt on 24/08/2017 - 05:41

    You know you could just get revenge easily right? Plant some stuff and call the cops. The trouble would get him pissed and always on the cop list forever.

  • djones145 on 24/08/2017 - 07:42
    +2

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/325635
    Send his details to Nigeria scam forum
    Answer all calls to scammers to his address and number
    Spam spam spam

  • Slippery Otter on 24/08/2017 - 07:45
    +1

    Some of us have been there:

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/303763

    I feel silly about the whole situation, if you really if the details of the scammer try you best :). I had no information of laceceat….

  • sb123 on 24/08/2017 - 09:26
    +3

    Hi, I had a similar situation where I stupidly did a bank transfer for a camera and the guy never posted it to me. Before I transferred the money I asked the guy to send me a photo of his drivers license, which he did. That was his stupid mistake.

    I submitted a claim with my bank to recover the money however was unsuccessful. I also contacted Gumtree but all they could do was disable his account. I went to my local police station and was told to submit a report via ACORN which I did. Maybe a month or two later I was contacted by the police who said this guy had also scammed other people and they started investigating.

    Long story short, I finally got my money back. This guy was about to go to court for scamming camera rental companies. He was hiring out camera equipment then selling it. About a week before I had to go to court to make a statement about what happened and he finally agreed to pay me my money back if I didn't go to court. It took about a year to get to the stage where I got my money back.

    • ozbogan1 on 24/08/2017 - 09:55
      +6

      I would've gotten the money back then gone to court anyway

      • sb123 on 24/08/2017 - 09:56

        Yeah I know, but that was part of the deal with his lawyer unfortunately. He would have still got done over by the big camera companies.

        • itstuan on 24/08/2017 - 11:02
          +8

          I would have drag the negotiation longer and longer so the scammer had to pay heaps more in lawyer fee.
          I would have demand more money from the scammer to settle since I wasted lots of time & effort
          If the money lost wasn't a lot, I would not accept the deal and went to court anyway. At least I know I helped putting a scammer to jail & justice served.

  • itstuan on 24/08/2017 - 10:57
    +1

    Assuming you already got scammer facebook/relatives details and saved it. Make sure your facebook blocking his nick in case he does the same and sus out your details
    Write him & demand of refund otherwise you will provide all these information to the police (Give him some evidence of what you know). Even better yet, write it on a note and stick it on his front door.
    Take a mate with you and go to his house, speak to him. Try not to resolve in violence, you dont wanna be on a wrong side of law.

  • dojomojo on 24/08/2017 - 11:40
    -8

    OP asks for advice then doesn't want to follow it… Put it down to a life lesson then I guess.

    • Dienk on 24/08/2017 - 12:15
      +6

      What??? I went to the police and did report at acorn. What else can I do?

  • justwii on 24/08/2017 - 12:57

    Are you the scammer trying to ask what can happen to you because now the victims know your address and your mum knew it too?

    • Dienk on 25/08/2017 - 15:14

      No

  • roy125 on 24/08/2017 - 13:45
    +4

    About 4 weeks ago my wife sold a bed on gum tree. They asked if we could drop it off coz the wife was in hospital and they would transfer the money. Even said they would throw in some fuel money if I could deliver it.

    So at the instruction of my wife i (stupidly) dropped the bed off. No one was home so they said just leave it by the front dismantled (how convenient).

    Of course no money was transferred. First excuse was that the bank account was international so it takes a bit longer, then our bank details were incorrect. I passed their details onto my friend. Needless to say he is quite intimidating, 1 week later the money was in our account.

    Now he is know as "The Collector."

    • miastalker on 24/08/2017 - 17:35

      Wow I wonder what would happen to them if they didn't pay. Is this a legal service? It's a bit sad that you had to resort to this.

      • roy125 on 24/08/2017 - 18:23

        Haha, he would have gone over there and taken the bed back.

        I would have just let it go, but then again I guess it's the principle of the matter. If you keep letting people get away with these things they keep doing it. Technically it is stealing and they should be dealt with appropriately but clearly the police don't care and these people use that to their advantage.

    • samfisher5986 on 25/08/2017 - 13:39

      Seems like the scammer made a huge mistake for what was otherwise a flawless plan.

      You left the bed at the front outside, all they had to do was pick a house that wasn't theirs and then run off with the bed…

    • Dienk on 25/08/2017 - 15:16
      +2

      Give me your friend's contact

      • roy125 on 25/08/2017 - 16:36
        +1

        Haha, he is in Perth though

  • MISIEK on 24/08/2017 - 14:20

    Small claims court. asking for a judgement to include court costs and enforcement fees by the sheriff. That's if Police won't do anything.
    http://www.localcourt.justice.nsw.gov.au/Pages/forms_fees/fe…

  • ronorboris on 24/08/2017 - 18:54
    +4

    Post him a card full of glitter. That'll teach him!!!

  • chingy213 on 24/08/2017 - 20:52

    go visit him with a group of your friends/brothers/dad/uncles.

  • [Deactivated] on 24/08/2017 - 21:03

    Ozbargainers are such good helpers. I feel good for OP after reading all this.

  • [Deactivated] on 24/08/2017 - 21:04
    +4

    Everyone has 2 knees for a reason…. to learn from their first mistake.

    • AMLagonda on 25/08/2017 - 01:33

      lol I love that one…

  • BrokenChairs on 24/08/2017 - 21:07
    +2

    Personally, I'd write a handwritten note stating you're still waiting to be delivered the TV you purchased and nail it to his front door. In goats blood for extra points.

    • myusername on 26/08/2017 - 10:56

      what about attaching the note to a horses head?

  • bitambitious on 24/08/2017 - 21:47
    +1

    can someone hook me up with a deal for a 55inch 4k TV for $310! Thanks

    • Dienk on 25/08/2017 - 15:19
      +2

      Keep your eyes on gumtree

  • Gorodemon on 24/08/2017 - 22:35
    +1

    In certain situations, the law is inadequate. In order to shame its inadequacy it is necessary to act outside-the-law to pursue…natural justice. This is not vengeance. Revenge is not a valid motive, it's an emotional response. No, not vengeance. Punishment.

  • [Deactivated] on 25/08/2017 - 04:42
    +1

    The guy is a scum bag, but for (profanity)'s sake, did you have to make it so easy for him?

  • w3b3d1g1 on 25/08/2017 - 08:26

    Stopped reading the comments after everyone said go to police, report this blah blah blah….. GO THERE and confront the person!!

  • DIVISIONX on 25/08/2017 - 08:28
    +2

    keep ordering food to his house

    • Dienk on 25/08/2017 - 15:20

      Hahaha. Nice!

  • gorge on 25/08/2017 - 10:01
    +1

    send him a polite message on facebook asking if there was a problem with his email because you havent received any word from him yet regarding your payment. he will put two and two together and realize that if he doesn't pay you then he'll be in trouble since you have his real name etc.

  • laurence on 25/08/2017 - 10:21

    (HYPOTHETICALLY) load up your cash into monero > go to the darkweb and order a hit on him (completely untraceable)> make him pay for stealing your money

  • hero000 on 25/08/2017 - 12:23
    -3
    Despite all those stories around you are yet another victim : ). I understand your feelings. I lost my $1800 on gumtree in persuade of buying canon 5D Markiii 3 years back. Took the matter to the police Bank they did nothing. Police found the address through the bank. I was advised the scammer has moved from the address that they have on file with the Bank. It's 3 years I've not heard anything. I got lawyers help too. I was advised it's not worth to take the matter to the court to get the address from the bank, and then get the debt collector ……. All I can say Good luck. Keep in mind always face to face business when dealing with gumtree stuff.
  • Windows98 on 25/08/2017 - 13:18

    How many forums have you posted this question on?

    • Dienk on 25/08/2017 - 15:23

      2

  • PlagueistheCheap on 25/08/2017 - 15:23
    +1

    Why work for a living when soamy people are willing to write me money for a few words?

  • brettepi on 25/08/2017 - 16:55

    maybe it was kogan, thats how he sells his tvs for so cheap ?

  • UFO on 25/08/2017 - 17:40

    COD through Australia Post.

    Cash On Delivery where a trusted 3rd Party like Auspost is a forgotten delivery method these days. Before Paypal and the like, its used to be the only way to send things to people and make sure you'll get paid.

    OP, try the cops like you've already been advised… but obviously in future, use a 3rd party for cash transactions. They don't give the goods over until money is paid, and likewise the buyer doesn't hand over cash until the goods are right there in front of him.

    Go halves on the COD costs (not that expensive), and everyone is happy.

  • BuyNow Think Later on 25/08/2017 - 18:44

    Hi OP, how did you found the scammer's address?

    • jlogic on 25/08/2017 - 20:08

      Facebook etc… amazing what people leave unlocked on their social media profiles.

      • myusername on 26/08/2017 - 10:19

        name and shame man as by the sounds of things you're not the only person they've been ripping off

  • Darlene39 on 25/08/2017 - 20:12
    +1

    Drive to the address you have for the scammer. Check out the number plates of the cars parked there. Order those license plates and run up some tolls. http://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/08/24/18/49/crooks-clo…

  • amipatil on 25/08/2017 - 20:36
    +1

    Went through same painful experience actually worse - lost 1000$ to a well known scammer on gumtree - yes after realising that I have been scammed I did research on this scammer and found that others were scammed too . What's more painful is the Police didn't help at all , their attitude was like oh it's not a legal transaction so we can't do anything! And the fact is they know the person and the person has been to jail for doing this already still they don't bother

  • frazerm on 26/08/2017 - 10:11
    +1

    Post an anonymous letter in his mailbox requesting he return the funds in your bank (inc details in the letter) - tell him he has 24 hours to comply or suffer the concequences. Make it obvious in the letter you not only know his address but his families address , his employer etc etc - scare the shit outta him

    • randomusername2017 on 10/09/2017 - 19:16

      Post an anonymous letter (inc details in the letter)

  • myusername on 26/08/2017 - 10:16

    gumtree = scumtree

  • shamid202 on 26/08/2017 - 12:50
    +1

    Police: Did you transfer the money with your own will or he forced you? A: I wanted to do to it my self.
    Police: Not our (profanity) business

    What i need to do? its a civil issue you will need to go to court of small claims, you will spend about $300 for court fees if you win the loser will pay for the court fees and your money back.

    How will i get my money back? the other guy is obviously a life loser so he doesnt have any money for sure, probably on centrelink you will get your money like 50$ per month during the course of the year.

    what did you learn here? I will never buy from gumtree again! WRONGGGGG gumtree is wonderful. 95% of people who i dealt with they are amazing 5% are misusing the system you should just not put 100% of your trust in people.

    Do business on gumtree again just dont do the same mistake thats all and read different people experiences you will learn a lot!

    • Dienk on 27/08/2017 - 11:57

      Very good words man. Thank you.

  • [Deactivated] on 01/09/2017 - 03:34

    As soon as u saw the repost you should have reported the ad and contact d the police. This is theft. If the police don't care take the SOB to civil court. They will. This is known as breach of verbal contract.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join