Facebook Marketplace scam

mr335ish

I put up my pristine 2001 Epiphone Sheraton on the wife's Facebook marketplace.

Contacted by a Sidiki Aboubacar, full asking price, the courier GLS would drop off the cash and collect the guitar.

I went along with it until I was invited to pay for the insurance for the cash delivery, but no problem, it would all be covered in the cash handover. Distinct smell of rat starting to drift in.

I was sent an email, supposedly from GLS with pictures of happy smiling GLS couriers, with a link to Recharge.com to pay for the insurance - for the small fee of £100.

I texted the 'buyer' this morning - 'this is a scam' and suprisingly, they instantly left the chat group. Beware!

(the Sheraton is still available for non-courier collection...... )

bad_alice

The "I'll send a courier with an envelope of cash" scam is becoming all too prevalent right now, so well done for not falling for it. Part of the issue with this scam is that if you sign for the envelope, even if the envelope just has paper in it or is empty, the sender can claim that you received the cash they sent and that you have now entered into a contract to send him/her the item they've "bought".
Stay safe out there, folks...
 

blueskunk

Thanks for the warning and well done for not biting. Saying that, I’d bite this feckers nose right off if given the chance!!

I have had loads of scam emails coming through recently.  Annoying to say the least 

fretfinder

Not a guitar sale but I had the same thing happen recently, thought it looked dodgy and posted about it in off topic.
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/221023/facebook-marketplace-scam#latest

mr335ish

Is it worth posting this story in off topic?

Scary about the empty envelope trick....

kipple

I run an online Mobile Phone recycling company think 'music magpie' ' Mazuma mobile' type business.
 I buy iphones samsung etc through my website then sell them on.
we used to do sales through facebook marketplace and it has now gotten so bad on there that we no longer list on there at all.
If I list a bunch of say 9 or 10 iphones on there now I would literally spend the whole day fielding enquiries from scammers it's just a complete waste of time.

mr335ish

A sad reflection on human behaviour.

There has always been criminality since Cain murdered Abel (a bit profound for a Tuesday).

I suppose that burglary or mugging an old lady carried a (very) slim change of being caught, but a few text messages and a dodgy website carries zero risk.

Even if only 1 in 30 or more takes the bait it's worth the minimal effort for the scammer.

At least we can try to keep each other safe. There are still plenty of honest people out there........

Norlin4life

I find it’s easy to spot the marketplace scammers, as they always start the conversation  with ‘is the item available’ and their Facebook profile looks bogus. Just block them and move on. It’s part of modern life unfortunately

Schnozz

mr335ish said:

Is it worth posting this story in off topic?

Scary about the empty envelope trick....

You should see Sidiki's elephant trick...

digitalscream

Moved to Off Topic - this is a general PSA, and definitely not a sales thread

chrisj1602

bad_alice said:

The "I'll send a courier with an envelope of cash" scam is becoming all too prevalent right now, so well done for not falling for it. Part of the issue with this scam is that if you sign for the envelope, even if the envelope just has paper in it or is empty, the sender can claim that you received the cash they sent and that you have now entered into a contract to send him/her the item they've "bought".
Stay safe out there, folks...
 

Do they even send a courier?

I thought it was just the £100 “insurance” they’d take.

goldtop

chrisj1602 said:

bad_alice said:

The "I'll send a courier with an envelope of cash" scam is becoming all too prevalent right now, so well done for not falling for it. Part of the issue with this scam is that if you sign for the envelope, even if the envelope just has paper in it or is empty, the sender can claim that you received the cash they sent and that you have now entered into a contract to send him/her the item they've "bought".
Stay safe out there, folks...
 

Do they even send a courier?

I thought it was just the £100 “insurance” they’d take.

No and Yes.