Is There a Page for Known Scams When Buying/Selling Online?

pernunz on 25/06/2018 - 12:47

I had a look in the Ozbargain wiki and couldn't find much, but I've just been put in the situation where I think it's too good to be true.

Listed a car, had someone text me wanting an email if it's still available, and they've said they'll pay the asking price (+$300 to take the ad down) from another state and cannot inspect it in person. They've stated they'll pay through PayPal or EFT to my BSB/Account, but it just seems a bit shady (they've said they are unable to use their phone to talk, and will arrange for transport from my state to another state)

1) Should I go through with it (leaning in the negative)

2) If I do go through it, what are the signs to be aware of? (Is there some sort of PayPal refund scam that is common?)

Automotive

Related Stores

Gumtree
Gumtree

Comments

  • 87percent on 25/06/2018 - 12:48
    +1

    simply put? no

  • [Deactivated] on 25/06/2018 - 12:52
    +1

    www.419eater.com

  • bitesized on 25/06/2018 - 13:05
    +2

    Yea bud that one is known scam

    • D C on 25/06/2018 - 13:29
      +3

      Yep. They don't care about the car. They'll send you $4000 for the car + bonus + $1000 for the courier via a fake deposit (cheque at bank or Paypal).

      Why they can't pay the courier themselves triggers off a whole bunch of new excuses.

      You 'forward' the $1000 to the courier and that's the end of it.

      You discover the deposit is fake, you're out $1000 and still haven't sold your car.

  • bobbified on 25/06/2018 - 13:09
    +6

    Hoping I don't come across as harsh, but this is one of the most common scams on Gumtree and we've had plenty of posts about this.

    If you're not already familiar with this, I would suggest you sell your car by other means.

    Here's an example:
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/349193

    • [Deactivated] on 25/06/2018 - 13:48
      +2

      The scammers send this to every single listing. Every.

      I've sold a few cars in the last 5 years and every single listing on every single site will attract one of these stolen card scam.

      • Euphemistic on 25/06/2018 - 14:50

        I was disappointed I ddn't get one of these scammers last time I sold a car on Gumtree. Was kinda looking forward to the baiting process.

        • [Deactivated] on 25/06/2018 - 14:53
          +1

          Try again. List for fun. It may not be instant but give it a week.

          Make sure you have email contact enabled.

    • pernunz on 25/06/2018 - 14:51
      +1

      Not harsh at all.

      I think when I searched I was searching within the Gumtree store on Ozbargain so it didn't show up.

      Thanks for the link, it's almost identical to what I've had, so I've forwarded the email onto the scam email link suggested in that thread.

      • Ughhh on 25/06/2018 - 19:28
        +1

        If you copy and paste a sentence getting the scam email into Google, chances are you'll find numerous post warning people.

  • retiredfeline on 25/06/2018 - 13:12

    Is the scammer on an oil rig or at a remote mine? Internet access, text, but no voice calls, funny that.

  • ronnknee on 25/06/2018 - 13:40
    +1

    Search OzBargain forum posts for something like "Gumtree Scam". There's at least one every month.

  • Melb69 on 25/06/2018 - 14:09

    For every one person that doesn't ask the question. So another poor sucker is seeing their $100k gone. It needs to be stopped somehow. Its a highly organised crime syndicate that are doing this. Why can't authorities stop it so we can out these Nigerian scum.

    • garetz on 25/06/2018 - 14:53
      +1

      It's natural selection at work, if you arent smart enough to spot these scams, then you lose the money one way or another sooner or later.

      • bobbified on 26/06/2018 - 08:05

        It's pretty much survival of the fittest. If no one falls for these scams, the scammers will come up with something new. It's almost become a fact of life now and the lack of understanding around how the internet works doesn't help.

  • kumars47 on 25/06/2018 - 14:11

    Hi, This seems to be a scam, what people do is use stolen credit cards or hacked accounts to pay you the $300 or whatever, and then ask you to pay via direct deposit or by a Credit Card to a freighting company, which is a bogus company where this person has access to withdraw the money.

    The person whose card or account it is will report it to their bank and the bank will recover the money from where ever it goes. Sometimes they will be able to recover it back through the system, other times they will chase people, which could be yourself for the money.

    There are other types of scams which are similar to this with a slightly different process.

  • steven6 on 25/06/2018 - 14:11

    What's the scammers email addy?
    A couple of scammers who contacted me via gumtree used the following email addresses:
    [email protected]
    [email protected]

  • pernunz on 25/06/2018 - 14:49

    Thanks for the posts, everyone.

    Obviously a scam, I should have seen right through it.

    • HighAndDry on 25/06/2018 - 15:12

      It's good. We need these threads once in a while - serves as a good PSA/reminder. If no one put up these threads, people wouldn't be able to find them when searching.

  • BobD on 26/06/2018 - 07:47

    Many people will know the scams in this book but there are many who need help.

    The Little Black Book of Scams
    https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Little%20Black%20Book%2…
    You can also get a free hard copy posted to you if you ask nicely.

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