Gumtree/Ukash Scam or not?

oceanchefjohn

:rotfl:

Symes wrote: »

Seems like Maria from Penzance is at it too selling a very high spec bike for 1/4 of the usual cost! Was suspicious but thanks to MSE for the confirmation, £500 staying in my pocket!

Where do all these high flying professionals find the time to get rid of all their surplus toys. GUMTREE. Diane as she is now known guess what shes a very busy fashion designer:T, I saw an ad on Gumtree Macbook air £325 WOW BARGAIN: same story as i,v read on here, first e-mail, cash on delivery, second email, out of town busy, Macbook with UPS waiting to be dispatched at her expense bless how thoughtful and generous, Ukash voucher codes to be sent via UPS Link,Item arrives I check it out everythings hunky dory fine, if not driver will refund in full everybodies happy:beer: I thought this very odd and rang UPS Customer services and guess what, they don't ever offer this service:eek: this was only yesterday and the lovely but ever so busy Fashion Designer Diane is waiting for her voucher codes, NEVER buy any product in this way people

Jase_g

Sophie Smith just tried to con me using the ukash scam.

I did wonder at first as she wasnt the best speller, but I didn't want to say anything!

Turns out that she had moved from Liverpool to Edinburgh so I couldn't pick the item up. I smelt a rat straight away and this thread helped me, so thanks very much, I'm not £550 down!

Now I need to find a cheap MacBook, but I'll be more vigilant next time!

jess1011

Hmmm just read this thread out of interested and decided to do a little search for macbook of gum tree...............


there certainly seems to be alot from the same seller, who can only be contacted via her gmail account, not through gum tree

soolin

Well done MSE lets keep this thread high up on a Google search.

Ejs_2

Same scam going on on Gumtree with the seller 'Alexa' selling a Wavesport big EZ kayak for £80, almost too good to be true, but you do occasionally get good kayak bargains so I nearly fell for it. Exactly the same format at the rest. Now I need to work out how to get my UKASH refunded (I hadn't emailed the photo to anyone, realised just in time)

demystified

Just noticed that the Gumtree forums have been closed... there was a Scam Watch thread there. Gumtree's scam help pages mention to watch out for the old suspects Western Union and Moneygram but mention nothing about UKASH and this thread is already more than a year old... poor show Gumtree.

soolin

demystified wrote: »

Just noticed that the Gumtree forums have been closed... there was a Scam Watch thread there. Gumtree's scam help pages mention to watch out for the old suspects Western Union and Moneygram but mention nothing about UKASH and this thread is already more than a year old... poor show Gumtree.

Whilst I think scammers are generally scum surely people must take some responsibility for their actions?

Gumtree specificially warn against transferring money online or using escrow and suggest that the site is meant to be for face to face sales using cash. Yet people still use online payment transfers and I really don't think Gumtree can be blamed if people don't understand how transfers work.

The only way these scum bags will ever be stopped is if people started thinking things through logically and read the warnings. If we all refused to fall for obvious scams the scammers would have to find a real job instead of thieving.

Jenna_Appleseed

^ & from the last time I looked at the Ukash site it tells you it's not to be used for auction/classifieds payment.

demystified

In theory yes but some people are simply naive when it comes to something like this and would take the OP's email at face value. And I'd never heard of UKash before it was mentioned in this thread. Now when I read the original OP's email then I stopped and thought "wait a minute, somethings not right here!" but not everyone is as clued up or as savvy.

I know for fact that if my mother received that email I'd have to point out to her it's a scam because it simply wouldn't occur to her she's pretty trusting at the best of times and as far as the internet goes she's a complete novice.

retrovintage

Ejs wrote: »

Same scam going on on Gumtree with the seller 'Alexa' selling a Wavesport big EZ kayak for £80, almost too good to be true, but you do occasionally get good kayak bargains so I nearly fell for it. Exactly the same format at the rest. Now I need to work out how to get my UKASH refunded (I hadn't emailed the photo to anyone, realised just in time)

Yes I too have had dealings with 'Alexa' asking me only this week to send UKASH voucher for dyson vacuum cleaner. what's worrying is that she sent a Parcel Force Worlwide preliminary tracking number and Royal-Mail-Group@post.com address. Luckily I realised it was a scam after contacting Parcelforce. Unbelievably despite me threatening her with police & reporting it to gumtree, she has re-listed this. It is probably one of many items listed in an attempt to steal money. BEWARE!!!