**Beware**Gumtree**Scam**

[Temp20221108A]

I posted several items on gumtree for sale and received a text from a woman called **** ***** asking if I still had an item (the most expensive one on the list) and to email her.

Eager to sell the item, I obliged and emailed her. She replied with the following:

Great! please consider both sold as i am willing to pay your full asking price because i need to buy it for my cousin asap,

i have read through the advert and i'm totally satisfied with it,

sadly i would not be able to come personally to collect due to my hearing loss and I'm just recovering from heart surgery so I'm home-bound.

I have a courier agent that would help me to pick it up at your preferred location after you have received your money and i'll pay you via PayPal once you are ready.

Kindly get back to me with your location so that i can inform the courier agent about it now?

I replied asking if she was local to me and if a bank transfer or cash on collection would be possible. She ignored the 1st question and said she has no access to bank because she is house bound. Then gave me a link to PayPal.

After repeatedly asking where she was from and only getting her email address as a reply, I googled her name and came across a thread detailing the email I received but using a different name. So be careful. **** ***** (******** at ****.***) 

[raulleiva]

I received exactly the same mails:

Thanks, i got the PayPal email now and i will be sending the payment now but i wish to inform you that i would be adding an extra £50 GBP to the £185.00 GBP am sending into your PayPal account, which is for the charged shipping fee for the pick up company to register the (Item) for pick up, so you'll help me send it to the shipping company agent via Amazon gift card after the payment confirmation...

I will appreciate your help here. As soon as i made the payment PayPal will notify you as well and the total amount i will be sending now will be £235.00 GBP okay?

[llinnda]

I also had a buyer for my item from gumtree. Everything was going well, until I got a similar message to yours. She said she's sent me the money for the courier in with my payment and would I buy a £50 amazon gift card and give it to them when they pick up item. The email came through as suspicious from PayPal and I knew straight away it is a scam. No payment on hold through PayPal and there is no way PayPal would do this kind of business and put their customers at risk.

[Chelsea69]

I had exactly similar experience 2 days ago. I had a gumtree text from Joshua asking me to email his sister (rosielefler9) claiming interest in an item I placed for sale. They scammed me through buying a £50 amazon gift card who they used immediately after I posted on the "fake" paypal email. I never received any money. Beware of such scam don't ever reply to such texts asking to email someone else. I reported this to police

[Brahm54]

Same scam tried with me. His name is Fagmie and his nr is <removed>. So be aware of him.

[ma9]

i just had the same thing as someone wanted to buy a mattress that i posted on gumtree. what got me suspecting was that as soon as i posted i got a message saying that can i email the details to [removed] email address as my mother wants it. i thought let see how far they go and when they emailed the paypal stuff and asked for a gift card for shipping agent i was laughing my head off. this is the first i heard this way of scamming people. well be safe guys. i've already given my full name, paypal email & phone so not sure how these details will be used.

[UnScammable-0]

Something similar happened to me yesterday.

The potential buyer of something that I had on Gumtree said:

"Please do message the price and pics to my wife on her email."

This set off alarm bells and I knew something was up.

So, I went along with it and complied. Then in a return email from this person, I get this message:
"Good,I would have love to come for the viewing, but My place is way too far from there as I work as a nurse but I have a courier who will be working for me in the terms of collection once the payment as been made and cleared. I just hope you have an account with PayPal for the transaction. Am presently at Newcastle at the moment and the courier will be coming for the collection after you receive the payment, you can get back to me with the PayPal email address so I can send the payment. Okay good, I have got the PayPal now and i will be sending the payment,but i wish to inform you that i would be adding an extra £50.00 GBP to the £100.00 GBP am sending into your PayPal account,which is for the collection fee for item to be registered for pick up... so all i need from you is the permission to include the said amount to the payment i will be transferring into your paypal account and you'll help me in getting a Google Play Gift Card at your nearest store or tesco with it meant for the courier coming for the collection after the payment confirmation...I will appreciate your help here. As soon as i made the payment PayPal will notify you as well and the total amount i will be sending now will be £150.00 GBP okay."
I replied: "I don't fully understand this thing about the extra £50.00 as a collection fee for the item to be picked up and the Google Play Gift Card and it being meant for the courier. Could you explain this in further detail?"
His reply: "The additional 50 pound is meant for the courier coming for the collection and it as to be paid with a Google play gift card which you can buy at any store or tesco near you or buy online and am busy at the moment to get that, so I will be adding the fee to the payment am to send to you and you hand over the gift card to the courier. you will also receive the confirmation from PayPal as paypal is also aware of this. you have nothing to worry about you will receive the payment all together in your account once i made the payment..Ok"

None of which I did.

The alleged email from Paypal did not have a legitimate Paypal header.

I called him out over it and said that the Paypal email address wasn't correct and that in the salutation, Paypal uses my full account registered name. Not my email address. i.e. Dear [my Paypal account email address]

My last contact email with this scammer stated:

"No, I'm not putting money up front in order to sell something. That's not how it works.
As I stated prior; The emails that I received that were allegedly from Paypal, were not legitimate as the email address was not a Paypal email address. Paypal does not use anything other than their own email address as their correspondence email address. Nor do they address an account holder by their email address. Dear [my Paypal account email address] They use the account holder's full name in the salutation. Dear Mr. xxxxxxx xxxxxxx .

If you want this item, you transfer £100. into my Paypal account and you arrange and pay for the courier service to collect it."

Anyway, his scam attempt failed and he didn't get his £50. Google Play Gift Card and I haven't heard from them since.

BE AWARE PEOPLE!

[UE2]

Hi, I had recently put up an advert on gumtree to sell furniture. I almost immediately received a message on gumtree from a lady called Lillian who said her boss was interested and would like to email. I agreed and the purchaser named "katherine <removed>" emailed me saying she was interested in the purchase but she lives elsewhere in Australia and will have to arrange for a pick up agent to get the furniture for her new house. Now the odd thing is that the agent wants to be paid with STEAM vouchers... I've never experienced this before. Is this a scam? i asked for the pick up agents info and she didn't give it. This is the email from the paypal with address <removed> ------ Katherine <removed>" has paid you through PayPal. Note from Katherine <removed>": Furniture plus Pick up agent fee Details of Transaction Amount:$900.00 AUD Pick up agent fee:$100.00 AUD Total:$1,000.00 AUD Transaction ID: U-6SV701612V2043430 Note:This is the confirmation email for the PayPal payment made by Katherine <removed> and how to get it completed. This PayPal payment has been approved but temporarily on hold and it won't reflect in your account because we had to placed this transaction on AN ESCROW ACCOUNT AGREEMENT whenever handling THIRD PARTY PAYMENTS in order to ensure both buyers and sellers protection from online fraudulent activities. You won't have access to the payment now until the pick up agent payment has been received from you due to PayPal management terms and conditions. We have contacted the pick up agent and he has requested his payment by a Voucher (STEAM gift card) Therefore,you are required to head to any store around you and purchase ($100.00 AUD) STEAM gift card and get back to us with the details below as it was stated by the pick up agent to arrange for the pick up and delivery. Details needed: Scratch and send the picture of the STEAM gift card plus the Receipt,Your name,Pick up date and time,Pick up address,Item description and Contact number You have to email us the full details to our customer care line which is <removed>",so we can complete the transaction and get your account credited with the total amount of ($1,000.00 AUD) You can also get back to us through the email above if you have any question PayPal will be responsible for any loss incurred during the course of this transaction The PayPal service is provided by PayPal Australia Pty Limited <removed> which holds Australian Financial Services Licence numbe[Removed. Phone #s not permitted]2020 PayPal. All rights reserved. --------

[kernowlass]

@UE2 

SCAM.

They encourage you to accept a 'direct' Paypal payment.
No funds or activity of the transaction shows in your Paypal account and any emails 'may' go into your junk/spam folders.

They don't quibble on cost and may also say they can't view the item as they are disabled or working abroad etc etc but they will arrange a shipping agent /courier to collect it.

You will get/got a "fake" email that looks as though it is from paypal.....it isn't because they don't actually have a Paypal account and have no intention of paying you.
It will say the buyer has paid ...you won't have been paid.

The 'fake' paypal email will tell you that the buyer has paid for the item + shipping costs but you must send those shipping costs to the courier/ shipping agent via anther payment processor than Paypal OR via providing some vouchers or tokens before the funds are released to you.
They are not interested in the item, they just want that couriers/shipping funds and you will never see money in your paypal balance.


Paypal NEVER tell you to send an item before the payment is showing in your paypal account.
Paypal do not tell you to send trackable, they advise it for selling protection but it is not compulsory.
Paypal NEVER expect you to use a rival money transfer service eg Moneygram or Western Union, Bank Transfer, vouchers or tokens of any type etc.
Also their is no seller protection on paypal for any type of item that is collected by the buyer.

Delete any emails and ignore the scammers.

[UE2]

Thank you for clarifying. I'll block them immediately. I appreciate the help!

[Tralfaz-699]

I just had the same scam. Im concerned because I gave them my address, did you also do this? Did anything result? Do i need to be worried about people turning up at my house?