**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 ****.***) 

[Pnntobes11]

This has just happened to me & I'm shocked! I am quite a trusting person but do generally google things first, I gave my name, home address & email address but then heard no more?!

[RG1976]

Yes, me too.  Just attempted today after I posted an ad on Gumtree.  Same email from her, almost identical.  Wanted to know how she would pay me, I told her Paypal, now silent after emailing me all day about the goods.  Very annoyed, wish I'd Googled the email address first.

[JessicaLou13]

This happened to me on Friday!! Luckily I asked someone about this MoneyGram and they said never send it if it is going to Nigeria. Then after replying to her email, saying that I couldn't send the item, she got a little rude and I haven't heard anything since.

[ss11]

Just had the same a number from the US texting me in the middle of the night asking that I send the best price for my car to "<Edited> - obviously ignored!!  

[Mww15]

Watch this idiot!!!... they threatened me with the police if I didn't send the items!!... and the PayPal email went into junk!.. I knew pretty early on and it was great to waste their time and give them false hope

[propete10]

Haha, good work. I'm doing exactly the same right now

[kernowlass]

@propete10

Please be careful, they have been known if you deliberately wind them up to add your email address to some very nasty internet sites.

[Skarecrow29]

I got 3 texts a few minutes apart asking if the items were still for sale and could I email the address in the text, I had just emailed the first text when the second one arrived from a different number but asking the same thing and with the same email address, Then the third come in from a 3rd number with the same message but with a different email address but very similar. The first name was the same as a factious character from a film the next was the name of an actress. 

The suspicions were already roused when the reply to the email came in stating Deaf and in a wheel chair and send pay-pal so did a quick search on the net and found this thread. 

Stay sharp people if it sounds to good to be true, it usually is.

[Sicoracing]

Mine was exactly the same as the first post in the first thread pretty much to the letter.  I smelt a rat when I received a text giving me and an email to contact.  Also the use of the two first names in the full name is a common trait - Emily <removed> in my case.

Even without this forum i thought it was odd but this confirmed my thoughts - keep up the great community

[NickiClark]

Exactly the same scam for me this morning. Wanting to send a courier and then I use a money gram to send money to Cameroon. Luckily didn't fall for it.. The new name is now Alain <removed>