**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 ****.***) 

[Temp20230525FI]

Well it's now for her daughters wedding she needs the dress I advertised ! I've given my email name and postcode to this woman ! She to told me about PayPal as I wasn't a user but went ahead and did what she said ! Even sympathised with this sicko and was really bloody nice to her I wouldn't of sent the dress until I had the money in my hand from my PayPal account just glad this scam message popped up when I searched for my PayPal account so thanks everyone for the heads up will be interesting to see if I hear back from her as I've given the details for her/him to transfer money to my PayPal account,thought it was all to good to be ture as like alot of you it was the most expensive I had posted and actually quite **bleep** off now as I had already spent the money in my head !

[CharlieM1]

Just had the same/similar. Selling a camera on gumtree which is brand new...guy wants me to email him with photos that have been taken with it lol Erm....brand new?!

[Zoomoon]

My gut instinct said scam and glad I double checked - Mine was buying for her student son- she was disabled and deaf and her bank account wasn't working but would send via paypal now and send a courier. Just politely told her where to go.

[Temp20230525FI]

She wanted to pay me via pay pal and she would transfer the money for the courier to as he'd only accept amazon gift cards but she couldn't get out so I had to help her by purchasing that and then scanning the code for her to redeem it and then my money would be released ! Yeah right like that was going to happen but as I say that some poor unknowing people actually would believe this scum !

[Neilp1234]

Still active in August 2019. For me the fact that they didn’t identify which of two items they were interested in alerted me. This thread confirms it.

[Sarahleth22]

Hi not sure how I can post on the thread but I had a message off a lady called Alison who was interested in my wedding dress asked me to email her dad so I emailed ramsdale <removed> and I had this as a reply Hi am Ramsdale, Can you assure me that i will not be disappointed with this sale because I'm ready to buy this for my dearest daughter, the only issue is that i'm a very busy type since i work full time and am not around but i have a courier agent coming for the collection after the payment has been made cleared into yor account and the courier service agent will be present for all other things that is needed to be done about collection. Due to my job there is strictly no call that is why i ask my child to send you an email because our server has been down here at work. But I'm able to access my mail anytime as i will make use of wifi. i have gone through your advertisement and i am satisfied with it so we are good to go. I will be paying through paypal so if you have an account with them or get one set up at <removed> and kindly get back to me with the following details for payment: PayPal Account Name with PayPal E-Mail Address: Firm price: Phone Number: I hope we can make the purchase as fast as possible.. So i look forward to hear from you soon We were considering sending the details but something didn't seem right. Glad I came across this thread.

[sallysummer]

I advertised an item on Gumtree yesterday and had a reply from Jennifer <removed> exactly the same message very concerning. How can this person be stopped?

[kernowlass]

@sallysummer 

This person?? You think its one person?

This scam has been ongoing for at least the 15 years i have been helping on here.

That is not their real name, they use hijacked or throwaway email addresses and work out of an internet cafe in somewhere like Africa etc.

They send out thousands of these emails and as none of the SCAM involves paypals site then there is nothing much that can be done about it.

No different from any other fake / spoof / scam emails you may get.

[Temp20230525FJ]

Great! please consider it sold as i am willing to pay your full asking price because i actually want to buy it for a relative who is in need of it, 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 me being work offshore. 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 today. Where is the pick up location so that i can inform the courier agent about it now? Best Regard. I got the above email today after having advertised an item for sale on Gumtree!

[kernowlass]

@Temp20230525FJ 

Yes if you read the many threads on this forum over the last 15 years you will see its a common scam.

Normally someone puts on a post like yours about 50 times a day.