Scammed on Gumtree for $2000

elequent on 11/04/2018 - 20:00
Last edited 12/04/2018 - 19:22

Hi,

I have recently sold a $2000 JB Hi-Fi gift card to some person on Gumtree. He sent me the transaction receipt to me via SMS, and I sent them the gift card immediately.

I did not received funds after two days, and could not reach this guy via phone number anymore, and the number has been cancelled.
I have just called the Bendigo bank and apparently the account number on the receipt is a fake one.

I will try to ask JBHIFI to trace the use of gift card and see what happened, and then reach to the police.

I would appreciate very much if you guys could offer me any help.

Cheers.

Edit: Thank you all for the response and help. I have sent an email to JB about this situation, and hope they could at least provide me with the information of this guy. I went the local police, and apparently this was out of their normal job range. I have lodged the case to ACORN. However, since I only have his FAKE number, and maybe FAKE identity linked to this number, I am not sure how much I could get from them.

Anyway, a very painful lesson. Turn the page and move on.

Edit: JB refused to do anything for stolen cards, and they required police investigation to provide the information of the card user. I have got an email from ACORN asking me to provide the address of the person, which I do not have, so I submitted another case with his phone number. I could not find anywhere to upload any image evidence?

General Discussion

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Comments

    • Cave Fire on 11/04/2018 - 21:40

      It's the hidden economy… but ok… can I have a blood test plz?

  • Peter Enis on 11/04/2018 - 21:04
    +27

    OPs next post: "Help, just got done by the wallet inspector"

    • JIMB0 on 11/04/2018 - 21:56
      +11

      I need some change. Has anyone got two tens for a five?

  • coco1458 on 11/04/2018 - 21:57
    +4

    With real-time payments using PayID, there really is no excuse anymore for not getting the payments straight away.
    Yeah some banks are at different stages of the rollout but it's reliable enough to get a payment almost instantaneously

  • Ridiculous Panda on 11/04/2018 - 21:57
    +18

    Who sells $2000 worth of gift cards for $2000 anyway? Go get a hobby.

    • tinyorca on 12/04/2018 - 07:52
      +4

      Who would buy them?

      • andyken on 12/04/2018 - 14:58
        +6

        the scammer

  • follow on 11/04/2018 - 22:15
    +2

    haha similar thing happening right now. selling another pixel 2 xl and a guy sent 1150 and is demanding i send him the phone right away. i advertised for 1100 lol.

    • JimmyF on 11/04/2018 - 22:52
      +5

      Send them a fake tracking number….. I mean they sent you a fake payment afterall.

      • follow on 11/04/2018 - 22:57
        +1

        They"sent" the money to my account. Im waiting for to get cancelled. Buyer is saying "I will call cop" lol. Tracking number costs money?

        • JimmyF on 11/04/2018 - 23:01
          -1

          auspost recycles tracking numbers, so just try all your old ones till you find one thats active ;)

          What do you mean "Im waiting for to get cancelled"?

        • Pizdets on 12/04/2018 - 06:55
          +3

          Im more interested your story than OP. Keep us updated lol

        • follow on 12/04/2018 - 07:38

          @JimmyF: you can cancel a cheque before it clears

        • JimmyF on 12/04/2018 - 09:25
          +1

          @TarquinOliverNimrod: Yes, but you never said anything about a cheque until now. Just like direct transfer, cheques are the same. No goods until the funds are cleared!

        • treeman on 13/04/2018 - 09:51

          @JimmyF:

          Who still using cheques?

          Particularly people buying a new phone like a Google Pixel.

        • JimmyF on 13/04/2018 - 12:14

          @treeman: stuffed it I know…. Either @TarquinOliverNimrod is being a troll or just a billion years old!

        • follow on 13/04/2018 - 13:55

          @JimmyF: or it's a scam?

        • JimmyF on 13/04/2018 - 13:56
          +1

          @TarquinOliverNimrod: someone is being scammed for sure!

    • Zelda on 12/04/2018 - 20:41
      +1

      Make a forum post about it! I bet a lot of ppl would find this interesting

      • follow on 12/04/2018 - 21:02
        +1

        ill find out if its legit on 16 april

  • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2018 - 22:25
    -4

    thanks

    new TV looks damn amazing in my bathroom

    [Deactivated] on 11/04/2018 - 22:25 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
    • smuggler on 11/04/2018 - 22:31
      +1

      thanks

      your new TV is now in my living room and i've taken a massive dump in your toilet. Word of warning, I did it standing up.

      • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2018 - 22:39

        you're lying

  • Zedsdeadbabyzedsdead on 11/04/2018 - 22:33
    +1

    Look at this as a good learning experience.

    • aurotaro on 12/04/2018 - 15:57
      +1

      quite an expensive learning experience.

      I learnt mine when I was 17. Wanted to buy $150 worth of blu-rays from gumtree and did a bank transfer. Never received the goods. First and last time.

  • neo on 11/04/2018 - 23:03
    -1

    LOL

  • cloudy on 11/04/2018 - 23:19
    +58

    When a man with money meets a man with wisdom, the man with wisdom leaves with the money and the man with money leaves with wisdom.

    • geoffs87 on 12/04/2018 - 08:39

      i like this

      • rave75 on 13/04/2018 - 11:39

        me too. Good Quote

    • Scab on 12/04/2018 - 12:11
      +6

      I hope you don't mind but I'm getting this as a neck tattoo.

      • QW3RTY on 12/04/2018 - 14:23
        +14

        You're not a giraffe, by any chance?

      • cloudy on 12/04/2018 - 14:25
        +1

        I don’t mind, my only request is can I see it at the next Ozbargain meet up?

      • MathNerd on 12/04/2018 - 21:23

        neck groin tattoo

  • ToxicPhatGrunt on 12/04/2018 - 00:19

    PayID ftw?

  • idonotknowwhy on 12/04/2018 - 00:27

    Lmao guys, this literally did not actually happen.

  • Yummy on 12/04/2018 - 01:27

    Good on ya, OP. God bless you indeed!

    Here, have my 2000 +++++ upvote.

  • 17833 on 12/04/2018 - 02:06
    +21

    If you read comments by the OP in this thread, https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/369851 and the comment above by the OP, it looks like the OP is genuine. Posted a deal for the TV and said had been looking at it for a while, then someone else posted a better price for same TV. Looks like OP bought TV from the Good Guys but then discovered that you get the TV cheaper at JB for about $2,156. So OP bought 4 JB gift cards equalling $2,000. (at 5% discount), OP has then attempted to buy TV cheaper using gift cards and voucher at JB but they had no stock. Anyway if anything hopefully this post might serve as a warning to others selling stuff on Gumtree. All the best to you OP, it is a crappy feeling to be scammed especially when it is for a sizeable amount of money.

  • ozzpete on 12/04/2018 - 06:53
    +1

    You may have issues with JB Hi Fi because they probably have in their terms and conditions that you cannot sell the gift card. Im not sure, but it does sound like something they would stop, if they legally can.
    I would contact the banks fraud team. The bank, would I believe have an interest in tracking down and stopping someone who is making fake bank statements and the like.
    And try the police, though your local police station may not have the resources or expertise, they might refer you to a specialist department.

    • elequent on 12/04/2018 - 07:03

      Thanks a lot. I am still hoping JB hi fi could provide me the information of this guy who used the gift Cards.

      Anyway, I will go to Bendigo bank first and to the cop later to see if any help.

      Idealy, I do hope that this guy left correct information when using the JB HI-FI gift cards and the cops would be able to track this guy down with this information.

      Anyway, a very painful lesson.

      Cheers

      • ozzpete on 12/04/2018 - 07:08
        +2

        Your welcome. I hope it works out well. You have the phone number from text. That is another way they could potentially be identified. I believe that the police can ask for details from phone network, and see who has that number to investigate. They may have stolen someones identity to set up phone number though, but it would still be good for the police to become aware of such an identity theft. ie. To set up new sim card, they ask me for license number, or medicare number (and has to be correct) , but they might have another persons license or medicare details.

      • Geryatric on 13/04/2018 - 06:14

        You don’t provide any information to use a gift card, they just swipe it through the machine and off you go with the goods.

        Even if they had the information a business would not be able to provide it to you under privacy laws. They may provide it direct to the police and the police will not share it with you for the same reasons.

        • sloba on 13/04/2018 - 14:19
          +1

          I recently used $600 worth of JB vouchers, as it was over a certain amount, they requested to see my Drivers licence and either took a copy or took the number of it down. this was in WA.

      • rave75 on 13/04/2018 - 11:46
        +2

        The scammer might not even bank with Bendigo you know? If someone is using a fake receipt, why would he even use the actual bank he is with? your only hope is for JB to cancel the card, which is very unlikely since you could've bought the card, sell it to someone, tell your story to get it cancel and JB to reissue the gift card.

        Police won't do sh*t. My investment property shows obvious signs that it was used to make drug, I called the police and they were not even have the slight interest.

  • ozzpete on 12/04/2018 - 07:01
    +1

    Oh if you are willing to lie to JB hi fi worker, in order to thwart the scammer… JUST TELL JB HI FI CARD WAS STOLEN.. Surely they must have a process for lost and stolen card with $2,000 value. Even if all they can do is cancel it, at least the scammer gets nothing. 1 option also, is that if the store could accept identify your $2,000 gift card in their system, then when someone attempt to use it, well Im pretty sure every single store will have security cameras therefore they would then have footage of the person to show police. If they use card online, then they would have an address for scammer/scammers.

    • elequent on 12/04/2018 - 07:05

      I have reported to jbhifi and see what can I get from them.

      • ozzpete on 12/04/2018 - 07:11
        +3

        Dont only report it 'in store' . I would also follow up by emailing JB HI FI Head office . They will likely have more resources than any 1 store. If you have already followed up online, still go to local store, it cant hurt having more parties looking into it :)

    • terrys on 12/04/2018 - 07:46
      +6

      Telling them the card was stolen isn't a lie. Obtaining goods or services by deception is theft.

    • blehgg on 12/04/2018 - 10:50
      +1

      What happens if the seller was the scammer?

      I buy it legitmately.. and you as the seller goes to JB Hifi and cancels them saying I stole them?

      • ozzpete on 12/04/2018 - 11:43
        +2

        Yes, that does happen also. People sell something then report as stolen and/or cancel to scam buyers . You have a very good point, reminding people of the risk in such transactions for both buyer and seller. Exactly why I didn't send over $1,000 to seller on here that seemed dodgy, insisting I send ppal family and friends payment to him for gift cards on ebay. I caught him out lying once or twice during our conversation here (PM) so I stayed away. Not worth the risk, just to save a few dollars. And he was very pushy, after telling me he is 'always selling out', yeah right, if always selling out, you wouldn't be so pushy to sell to me. I also discovered that you cannot use 10 x $100 ebay vouchers for 1 item also, there is a limit (I think 8) where I caught seller here out lying to me.

        • blehgg on 12/04/2018 - 13:06
          +7

          I would be so paranoid for such a large transaction. I'd make sure I had a need for it and transact only in person…

          1) I'd meet the guy @ jb hifi
          2) Confirm the cards had the value at the counter
          3) Pay at the agreed discounted rate in CASH
          4) Spend it immediately at for the product I required.

          I hate selling on Gumtree…

        • gromit on 12/04/2018 - 15:10

          @blehgg: unless you are getting a massive discount on the cards I just think it isn't worth the risk, the potential for scams from sellers or buyers is just huge for gift cards, especially as they are a favourite commodity of many criminals. If you need to sell then find someone you know that needs to buy something from the store in Question and if you need to buy go to a legitimate seller of the cards.

          Also for me, never ever buy/sell on gumtree. I am sure others have differing views on that but my limited experience to it all I saw was a bombardment of scumbags attempting to scam me out of my goods and that combined with no buyer/seller protection means this is prime hunting ground for scammers.

        • ozzpete on 12/04/2018 - 15:59

          @blehgg: Good suggestions. I could say the same, that I hate selling/buying on gumtree. But then when I think a bit deeper, I HATE DEALING WITH THAT 1 OF 50 on gumtree TOTAL SCAMMERS AND/OR RUDE.
          In the most part, people on gumtree have been lovely, and I think most people are decent and fairly honest and ethical.
          Those approx 2% ruin it, and make people end up hating gumtree alltogether.

        • ozzpete on 12/04/2018 - 16:06
          +1

          @gromit: True, many of the deals that seem too good to be true (or even a little bit too good) are scammers. And they are the hunt there for victims.
          The way I got around this (in the most part) was to really have my wits about me, learn the scammers tactics, so I cannot be scammed. Like when my bike was stolen twice, I learnt about bike locks and how theives get steal bikes, then used this knowledge to theft-proof my new bike.
          I ran a bussiness of sorts dealing on ebay, but as a buyer, then selling elsewhere, and I found a few honest sellers, who had the items I wanted regularly, and then tended to deal strictly with a few 'wholesaler' type sellers. I made less profit, but I didn't have to worry about getting scammed, and they would help me out and give better deals, because they wanted to deal with me again (always honest), rather than a potential scammer.

        • rave75 on 13/04/2018 - 11:47

          @blehgg: THIS is the way you do it.

    • [Deactivated] on 12/04/2018 - 19:10

      How is it a lie? It has effectively been stolen, it was taken without payment.

  • follow on 12/04/2018 - 07:52
    +2

    Yep cards were technically stolen so push for that hard. Has the gift card been used? As they could've reported it stolen too as transferred it to another gift card

  • cheaper on 12/04/2018 - 08:23
    +2

    I always use gift card when I purchase items in JB HiFi. They always make a copy of my driving licence when the total amount is $1000+. I am sure they can provide a copy of the licence to you. However, it may be fake too.

    • follow on 12/04/2018 - 09:15

      Or more than 3 gift cards at the same time

  • budgetman on 12/04/2018 - 09:11

    https://www.acorn.gov.au

    A friend of mine has had some luck reporting here.

    • [Deactivated] on 12/04/2018 - 15:12
      +1

      What luck? The website worked?

      • budgetman on 12/04/2018 - 21:13

        after reporting to the police and the police saying it was a civil matter he reported to ACORN
        Apparently the same person scammed over 40 people on gumtree.
        My friends report was only picked up because this person had scammed so many people.
        the scammer has now been charged, so 1 less dirtbag out there.
        ACORN will obviously ask for all supporting evidence.
        If more people reported these scams then there would be less dirtbags taking advantage of us.
        Not sure if any money has been recovered but i would urge the OP to report this scammer.

        • [Deactivated] on 12/04/2018 - 21:22
          +1

          First time I’ve ever heard of ACORN actually doing something

  • cyrax83 on 12/04/2018 - 09:26

    You are boned. Sorry this happened but it really is the oldest trick in the book

    You can attempt to contact JB Hifi and get the gift card blocked and re-issued as I assume you still have all the gift card numbers and stuff. I'm not sure they do it but worth a shot.

  • brenwildman on 12/04/2018 - 09:34

    How much did you hustle your gift cards for?

  • rompastompa on 12/04/2018 - 09:35
    +1

    Nope No listings for $2k.. and all the gift cards are under the gift card amount, so who would buy $1 to $1? No chance… or maybe that's code for 'I can't get scammed, I'm entitled to get my full money back, and make profit.'

    • blehgg on 12/04/2018 - 13:46

      doesn't ozbargain give out prizes for popular forum posts?

      Maybe we're all getting scammed now…

  • c0balt on 12/04/2018 - 09:45
    +1

    Rule about selling on Gumtree: Accept cash only and do the transaction in a place you feel comfortable with, with security cameras around.

    Rule about buying on Gumtree: Always make sure the product works (preferably tested in front of you) before handing over the cash.

  • Belv on 12/04/2018 - 09:51
    +6

    natural selection at work

  • Seraphin7 on 12/04/2018 - 10:03
    +7

    First rule of Gumtree: Cash in hand or no sale.

    Fair dinkum!

    • idonotknowwhy on 12/04/2018 - 16:25

      I follow that rule as a buyer, but as a seller, I don't mind posting things after a bank transfer has cleared.

      I've also had plenty of offers of transfer 'screenshots' and even paypal 'screenshots' where it 'will take 2 days go clear' lol.

      • Seraphin7 on 12/04/2018 - 16:59

        Yep, well cleared cash is the same as cash in hand in my book. Whenever I sell something I even move the cash to another account before handing over the goods.

        So many stories of email/SMS/screenshot transaction confirmations that turn out to be bogus!

  • AutomationGuy on 12/04/2018 - 10:12
    +4

    Your cards were stolen, plain and simple. Do not try the convoluted story with JB - they were just stolen.

  • Amaurys on 12/04/2018 - 10:24
    -4

    You deserve it. Next.

    • cloudy on 12/04/2018 - 11:33

      But why?

    • Pootie Tang on 12/04/2018 - 12:49

      Did you use to watch that show?

    • [Deactivated] on 12/04/2018 - 19:11
      -1

      Some people just don't know better, on the otherhand there are plenty of arseholes hey Amaurys.

      • Amaurys on 12/04/2018 - 19:21
        -5

        I'd call it a well-deserved punishment for being so stupid.

        It's 2018…

  • [Deactivated] on 12/04/2018 - 10:59
    +2

    Have you got anything else to sell?

    • arcticmonkey on 12/04/2018 - 21:15

      Next time you tour I hope you bring Richie Sambora.

  • JuryWheel on 12/04/2018 - 12:22
    +2

    I always cringe with any sale like this - both the buyer and seller are put in such a delicate position. Do you send the money without the card, do you send the card without the money? Even in person, I would be doing an online check on whether the funds are current. Also, I assume some gift cards can be used through on line stores? What’s to stop the seller noting the card number and pin, selling the card with the funds still there, and then using the funds before the new buyer has the chance? Dangerous situation for mine…

    • ninetyNineCents on 12/04/2018 - 13:45

      this is why gift card of all sort should be illegal, because in a strange sort of way its counterfeiting. Only the Australian gov should be allowed to print money, yes i know about credit cards thats another story.

      • arcticmonkey on 12/04/2018 - 21:16
        -1

        That's your ninetyNineCents.

      • peterpeterpumpkin on 13/04/2018 - 10:07

        Yeah, Centrelink already sees gift cards as a form of money with terms and conditions for gamblers and drug addicts. With advances in cashless transactions it isn't far-fetched that senders will be able to restrict the destination of funds without ceding control of the funds to the destination store (as much as we love exploiting gift card discounts).

        The virtual gift card of the future:
        "I'm so hungry but all I have is that $500 gift card to Monster HDMI cables".

    • Levathian on 14/04/2018 - 10:08

      The pin has to be scratched usually right? And you can't buy without that pin..?
      Its simple- don't buy it if the pin is already scratched lol.

  • berger on 12/04/2018 - 12:48

    so sold $2000 worth for $2000?

    • payton on 12/04/2018 - 13:16
      +1

      Unlikely, right
      Legit buyer would have argued its worth less than 2k

    • field1985 on 12/04/2018 - 14:19

      Nope, they sold $2000 worth for 2 minutes of work in Photoshop.

    • orangetrain on 12/04/2018 - 15:19
      +1

      Probably bought it at a discount. So op actually paid $1900. Offered to sell for $1900 because why not, expiry is 3 years away? Someone offers to buy. Op happy someone wants to buy and agrees to sell, thinking to get money back. Then this happens.

      To be honest, gift cards are evil for not allowing people to withdraw their value back. Allowing companies to push the spiel of gift cards as birthday gifts far better than cash.

  • MessyG on 12/04/2018 - 13:15
    +2

    There's so many of these posts of this nature - do Gumtree give any warnings about this to sellers? Surely they could tell all their sellers about PayID. This happens so much (and not just on Ozbargain forums) that surely the entity that it occurs through could do some educating about it.

  • ninetyNineCents on 12/04/2018 - 13:44

    why oh why do people buy gift cards for shops like jbjifi in the first place ?

    Theres no discount, and you end up locked with money for a store that you might not want…

    yes i know it was a gift, but still the giver is still an idyot for the same reason.

    • berger on 12/04/2018 - 15:25
      -1

      depends if its a freind/family gift, work bonus, or buying cards at discounted rates. plenty of reasons

      • ninetyNineCents on 12/04/2018 - 17:45

        well the gifter may have saved 5% discount, but the purchaser ends up with the raw deal because now they are locked into buying the gift card shop regardless of whther they are getting a good deal or not, which will cost them more than the 5% saving.

    • dbui8743 on 12/04/2018 - 15:47
      -2

      There are always discounts. You just dont lool hard enough.

      • Munki on 12/04/2018 - 16:41
        +5

        Excuse me, sir. I lool plenty.

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