**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 ****.***) 

[kernowlass]

@Tralfaz-699 

They normally work from an internet cafe somewhere in Africa so they are not interested in you if you are not going to be scammed, they will move on to the next person.

[MajaM123]

similar thing here, I think:

I have apparently funds that are pending due to condition of an item (private sale) being shipped to the buyer (he sent money on a reserve, so they are not on my PayPal account). the email I got is from PayPalcustomer Gmail account (alert in my head!,) the money that he sent (reserved to be released) are 5x bigger than what I have expected because he told me that to release the funds I have to pay separately the shipping costs in advance to some account (not the shipping company, but some Moonpay account) for this funds to be released (and items being send worth 18Euro, shipping costs 110 euro). the buyer haven't been clear to me from the start that this is how its going to go, otherwise I would have said no. since the transaction is not happening (I am not paying or sending anything anywhere especially since the amount of the "shipment" is 5x bigger than the worth of the items ) which is a condition for release of the funds, the buyer gets his money back, right? if there is money at all. because this thing looks like a scam to me from the buyers side...

[kernowlass]

@MajaM123 

Total 100% scam, no funds in your balance means you have not and will not get paid.  

[MajaM123]

Also, the only info they got from me is PayPal.me/name and ok... current address where they can pick up the item until a certain date and that's it. Nothing more. Should I be worried? They keep emailing me (relentless). I ignore from now on...

[kernowlass]

@MajaM123 

Nah, just ignore them, once they know you won't cave in they will move on to someone else they think they can scam.

[JD527]

Gumtree Advert to sell furniture - received a What's App message from Emilie <Removed> stating she lives in Liverpool at <Removed>, Liverpool, <Removed>.  Said she had paid the sum of £250 and sent me a form to fill out asking for my bank details including long card number, expiry date, balance of my account and three digits on the reverse of the card.  I was a bit suspicious as I couldn't understand why you had to put your balance on and then when you submitted it you had to type in a code sent to you by text to activate Google Pay, the bank sent me a text luckily saying to check this and I rang them.  They told me that someone else had set up a Google pay on another type of phone than the one I had and it was likely to be a scam.  In the meantime I had loads of messages from Emilie asking have I put in the code and then asking me for the code.  I told her the bank had stopped the card and then she kept asking me for the card being unstopped.  I contacted Gumtree and they said that you should never have to put in your card number for a credit only your account number.  They told me it was a scam, so I had to cancel my card.  Again like the others they offered to have it collected by Courier.  I also received another text on What's app from another number asking if it had been sold, but I said I had someone on trying to scam me and they never got back in touch.  The link they sent was <Removed>  Sent from <removed> and they even sent me a copy of the Gumtree Delivery instructions, so beware these people are clever.  They have not credited any money for the goods you are selling only trying to empty your bank account.

[Suz_965]

I just received a similar one for some furniture. They stated they were disabled and in Scotland (quite a distance from me). Wanted to pay straight away by paypal and send a courier tomorrow. Started getting suspicious with the quick turnaround so.asked them for proof of identity before I provided an address. I got a further email regards a transfer of money to.me a lot higher than asking that needed me to send them an agent fee and photo of proof

[Lynnholt123]

I’m wondering if this is what is happening to me. Put a table up for sale yesterday evening and had a message off a man called Dylan after 10 mins of it being up saying his sister was interested in the table and to email her. I emailed her and got this response: Alright, and i do believe i will not be disappointed in buying this no shipment involved, as i have a mover that will come for the pickup after the payment clears. I'm okay with the price and condition..I am presently out of town now and am new to online sells,I can only pay you via one of the fastest and secure way to pay online (PayPal)..so you send me your address for the pickup with your phone number...I want you to remove the AD online now so that NO buyer will bid on it again....am busy at work now so i will make the payment first thing as soon as you get back with your PayPal email, i hope that is OK? Please send me with the details for payment. PayPal address : Full name : Asking price: I just feel this is a bit strange, but not sure if I’m being overly cautious! Any help would be appreciated!

[kernowlass]

@Lynnholt123 

SCAM.

They encourage you to accept a direct Paypal payment and when you confirm will ask you to send a money request, not for them to pay but to get your email address so that they can send you fake Paypal emails.
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 or sending as a gift to a family member but they will arrange a shipping agent or 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 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 another payment processor than Paypal or by 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 NEVER expect you to use a rival money transfer service eg Moneygram, Western Union, Bank Transfer or any sort of gift token or voucher.
There is no seller protection on paypal for any type of item that is collected by the buyer.

Delete any emails and ignore the scammers.

[Lynnholt123]

Thanks so much for your reply! Thought it seemed odd, should I be concerned that they have my email address? Thanks again!