Hi OzB community,
I posted a JB Hi-Fi gift card for sale today on Gumtree and was caught in a fraud.
The customer sent me a drivers licence of an individual by the name of Johanis and tried to re-assure me he will make payment for my JB Hi-Fi gift card once I've sent through the gift card and pin (stupid me!). I'm wanting to see if anyone here has experience dealing with these sort of issues before and what are the options from here to recover my lost funds.
It was a $500 egift card.
You mean I shouldn’t just send items without any proof people will pay?
Nahhh don't worry about that. Please send me the item and/or gift card number, promise to pay, here's my driving license for proof:
https://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71075000/jpg/_7107537…
Omg it’s Batman!
Here, have all my items and organs. Who would pretend to be Batman!?
if u changed ur name to batman, it is technically not fake….
Isnt there another one callee phuc my bych?
What’s a javanese? Like the Java in IT or a coffee blend? lol
OzNaive?
This post also goes to show scammers still has a large pool of targets…
Someone said economics 101, supply and demand.
"There's a sucker born every minute"..
So true when you keep reading theses posts
so large……
Many people do not listen or read.
The pool is growing!
It's simple Julian, its all about supply and command!
lol people dont learn.. Gonski
People choose to ignore the warnings, then is completely surprised when it happens to them…
It's probably more a case of: you don't know what you don't know. That said, I've never been caught by these grubs and have always quickly suspected/recognised their scams well before they became common knowledge.
CASH ON COLLECTION
For a physical item like a chair, then yes, that is something that will protect the seller and be reasonable for an honest buyer.
The problem is that for something like a gift-card, the cash on collection option is very risky for the buyer. How do I (as a buyer) know that the gift card hasn't already been spent when I hand over my cash ?
Ultimately, the only safe way to do this, for both parties, would be for the buyer to tell the seller what they want from JB Hifi. The seller then buys the item, and hands it over, for cash.
If the seller & buyer don't want to go through this trouble, then they would have to do the transaction on the basis of mutual trust.
How can you be sure the seller won't buy something online the moment the buyer walks away though?
Honest question, I've never used these cards.
@trapper: You can't, the safest option is to go to JB Hi-Fi together and buy something for the card.
@trapper: verify the available balance, collect the seller's drivers licence details/etc, then if you get tricked you have the details for a claim against them. As the seller you take their cash or have the money actually in your account from them so they couldn't do a paypal claim back against you.
Is it that complicated? Can you just buy via PayPal goods and services? If the gift card is empty, launch a refund request with PayPal? Or is something I suggested against PayPal's ToS?
No buyer or seller protection for digital goods
@Quantumcat: Is a gift card a digital good if they give you the physical card? I mean, probably. Either way I could see it construed that way. So makes sense.
@Lockdude: Yeah it would be - if you mail them the card but spend the money before they get it they wouldn't be happy even though they received the physical goods.
@Quantumcat: Yup.. neither GT nor PP have protection for GC..
Looked into this couple years ago when I sold some Movie vouchers on GT via PP - but my buyer was legit.
The real scam was PayPal fee !!
How do I (as a buyer) know that the gift card hasn't already been spent when I hand over my cash ?
By knowing what you want to buy, and meet with seller at the JB Hifi Store you intend to redeem the gift card at before exchanging the money and proceeding to redeem it in store at the same time.
not 100% guarantee that buyer won't change their mind once you bought the item
and just run off
also issue of time and inconvenience
and buyer might not yet know what they want to buy yet.
The best option is to sell it to a friend or family member
or just buy some stuff from jb, they got lots of stuff e.g. ipad
and use it or just sell it.
This is better than losing $500
yeah and the if the buyer changes their mind and runs off
you end up with some crap you might not want
yes it is risky as a buyer, which is why you are generally paying a good percentage below face value of the gift card and hopefully buying from someone with a good reputation as a seller. The seller should not ever relinquish details prior to confirmation of payment, their are just too many scammers and buyers should never buy something like this from someone without seeing some proof of past sales/reputation.
Sorry to say your JBHifi money is gone.
Thanks for the response all! Kinda sounds like I bummed out of this one.
An expensive lesson at the very least..
Have there been instances where Jb is able to cancel the order and re-issue a new gift card to me? (or even ANZ bank who initially provided me with this gift card as part of the signup offer?)
No, gift cards don't get re-issued, you should treat them as cash.
Sorry for your loss.
https://support.jbhifi.com.au/hc/en-au/articles/360052939334
Could try JB, but the card may have already been used. You literally gave the card away on a promise.
Should JB Hi-Fi suspect any fraud relating to a Gift Card, JB Hi-Fi may refuse to redeem the Gift Card until JB Hi-Fi is satisfied that no fraud has occurred.
JB Hi-Fi is not liable for any lost/stolen Gift Cards. Please contact a JB Hi-Fi store immediately if your Gift Card has been lost/stolen. Lost/stolen Gift Cards can only be replaced if satisfactory proof of purchase is provided and the Gift Card has not been redeemed.
WHY DIDN'T OP USE OZB CLASSIFIEDS!?
Because ozBargainers only pay 8-10% off
Yeah super greedy to sell stuff on gumtree in good faith that they would get paid for it.
Scum of the earth money hungry seller with trust in other humans !
Way too greedy
To be fair to Garetz. The people who run these scams usually make an offer better than any other reasonable actually interested party. They arent wary, they dont ask many questions (although not sure how many there are to ask about gift cards.
So i dont think selling the giftcard and taking this probably too good to be true offer, likely was a bit of greed on OPs part.
i would have called up jb to check if the order can be cancelled… if in store… i would have called for police to get the image of the person who actually walk in to pay and get the goods bought with the gift card….
hope this help…
sorry for you loss…
another day another lesson well learned.
Indeed, I've paid way more than $500 for some training courses, so I guess that's something.
Should we do OP an honorary certificate for a lesson learned in online fraud so they have something to show for it?
Member Since
03/05/2010
What? This isn't right!
Under a rock?
Unbelievable… seriously.. 10 year free ozb lesson, still…. omg… haiz….
OP please explain this first!
could be a boomer or Karen
maybe try to cancel it or get video of person using it? Look up the drivers license name on google and facebook
ive tried this with no luck as its been redeemed. Appreciate the suggestion though!
The user does exist on facebook. Any particular way i should approach this?
well I got scammed by a vending machine I bought on ebay a year ago, it was a dud, lost $800, I paid in advance. Ebay wouldnt back me, so I know the feeling
I thought eBay will always refund the buyer so long you just select faulty when selecting return.
I stop using eBay because a buyer falsely claim the item I sold was faulty. Forcing me to arrange return postage.
@beefmaster: got a same experience…
sold an unopen good… buyer claimed faulty… return and send postage got charged.
I have provided proof of purchase for the buyer to claim directly with the manufacturer but useless… eBay just stepped in to make things worst.
yes notify the police
what are they gonna do? start a manhunt?
politely ask the user why you havent yet recived the funds?
I'd definitely be curious as to what they'll reply with if any reply
hellopam2019
Oh, that makes sense
thanks pam! ill notify the police and i have asked the user why the funds havent been received and they were delaying it as long as they could until i called them out on their scam. No response since then.
@curiousman: How would you know that the person hasn't stolen the driver's licence and conned two people at once?
I'm sure it will be a fake license, so not their real names either. Delivery will probably happen to a vacant lot and he just picks up the parcel.
Did you get a copy of the Gift Card details (Gift Card Number and PIN)? You can enter these details at https://giftcards.jbhifi.com.au/ and this will give you the details of how and where it was used. If they used it in store, then you could contact the store direct. If they used it online, then you could contact JBHiFi online and see if they can follow this up on your behalf.
Hi savemore,
yes i do have the copy and i can see that it was redeemed online.
i did contact jb already but apparently the queries need to be dealt with the "commercial team" rather than the online retail team
@curiousman: I'd be trying to get in touch with the commercial team and put forward as much evidence as you can to establish that you were the original purchaser of the Gift Card. I would also be as transparent and forthcoming with any information that they request, as for all they know the other person who used the Gift Card could also have an equally compelling story as to why they are the rightful owner.
@savemore: Thank you @savemore.
So if/when the commercial team reaches out to me with an investigation, should I let them know that I tried selling the gift card via gumtree? or should i just mention its a fraudulent redemption?
@curiousman: just to add on that -
FYI - The retail team member i spoke to on the phone - i told them it was a fraudulent and unrecognizable transaction.
Not sure if that would change your advice on how i should approach this situation but appreciate any feedback you might have
@curiousman: What was the redemption number when you checked that the gift card had been redeemed? Can you post a screenshot? Surely that has details on it?
@curiousman: If you make it easy for police by explaining that Jb hifi have an online redemption, which surely comes with a delivery address, maybe you will get somewhere.
They can't track a scammer online (or, they might be able to but can't be bothered). But if there is "theft by deception" / "fraud" and a physical address linked with it, then surely your incessant follow up calls and a complaint if police make no attempt to follow the lead, might finally get you somewhere.
@curiousman: I work on the honesty is the best policy basis, so if the purpose of having the Gift Card was to sell it, then you should tell them. I guess it all depends on how you ended up with the Gift Card yourself. If you paid for it or received it as a gift shouldn't really matter. It doesn't hurt to ask the questions as to whether or not they can assist.
Bikies
Hello Pam
Video? Surely they would have just redeemed online.
Edit: But they probably had it shipped to their home address. JB could probably help if they wanted to through the police.
you've stuffed up OP - nothing you can do now - take the loss and move on
One born every minute.
I am in disbelief that this is even a forum post
Well one stupid act deserves another I guess.
Gee thats unusual for Gumtree…. or stalkerbook.
This is the equivalent of shredding money and asking how do I get it back
I sold something on ebay once value $100 and decided to refund her some postage. I accidently refunded all the money at paypal so immediately contacted her by phone and she denied having a paypal account and denied receiving it (was registered). I found her business on a review site so left a review about her dishonesty
I sold something on ebay once value $100 and decided to refund her some postage.
ok, normal so far
I accidently refunded all the money at paypal
its your fault not the buyers. Maybe fix that spelling
so immediately contacted her by phone
Don't be so intrusive about your own mistake, just politely send the buyer a message
hellopam2019
I'm not surprised one bit
I was talking to OP, not you, dont care if you are surprised or not
dont care if you are surprised or not
Didn't ask
Then you ought to have used the private messaging feature and not the forum.
Lol what's the point of that? The business has nothing to do with you and probs will be removed for fraud since you didnt technically buy anything from her if she did report it. Pam strikes again! just like this:
is she a friend of yours?
Thank you for your service Pamela.
I recently also got scammed on Gumtree. If you'd like to be warned of who it is, private message me. Mods don't allow public sharing of personal details.
Haiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Uncle?
If they have already redeemed it then you are probably not very likely to get your money back from jbhifi given it has been spent.
If they have not actually redeemed it. Just go buy something now.
they immediately redeemed it unfortunately
did you look up where and how it was spent?
GUMTREE = CASH ON COLLECTION.
GUMTREE = CASH ON COLLECTION.
GUMTREE = CASH ON COLLECTION.