UPS UKASH UKCASH Gumtree Scam and scams in general

ebzdes

I fell for this just now!

It was a bed room suite for £50 got all the above in form of emails.

Went and got a Ukash voucher code...passed on the code as instructed in email.

Within minutes felt misplaced... So did a google search..and found this post....

thought ...oh no...too late...

But then I thought if I could transfer the money somewhere else...frantically went about looking to move the money before the scamster got hold of it.
came across neteller.com on Ukash site..
I was panicking...but managed to open an account in minutes...and used the code on the Ukash voucher...transferred my £50 ...Phew.
Cost me 50 pence....but saved a lot more.
Hope this helps anybody.
These scamsters need to go.
Ps....I am very net savvy ...but this one almost got me.

JJPerez

I nearly fell for this scam from this woman, Angela Murray <angela75murray@gmail.com> for a IKEA futon in Liverpool

The scam was the same as other people have said on this forum. Poor signal strength on mobile, limited emails, can ship and pay delivery company on the door. Just got the email from "parcelforce" for the UKASH voucher code. As if I'm going to hand over money without receiving the futon. And I agreed C.O.D with her as well! I will report it to gumtree, for all the good it will do!

JJPerez

clumsymummy wrote: »

Hi Everyone, Nearly got caught by this too. Just googled as seemed suspicious!

Same person is selling hot tub garden leisure 500. Nearly paid £900. Email received read:


Hi Vicki,
Don't know if it's been long since you've emailed, I've been out so couldn't follow up on my text message. Can't promise anything but visiting my mum shortly, wouldn't mind making a drop off . If you'll send me your postcode I can check out on my satnav the distance to yours.

Reasonable price and accurate description, it's worth the money, no bad surprises. I won't go any lower.

Can be reached on 07747516575 low signal strength area but check emails regularly.
Ta,
Angela.
P.S. Will take cash only.

That's the exact same email as I got!

GraceCourt

terrydoctile wrote: »

As a little add on. I am pleased to announce that I bought an identical item on Ebay for £155 and used Paypal to pay for it so I'm covered if I get scammed.

No, if you use Paypal you lose all of the protection you would have had under UK consumer protection law because Paypal operates from Belgium and is not incorporated in the UK - you can't serve a County Court summons on them and you have no S.75 Consumer Credit Act 1977 rights as you would if you paid by credit card through a proper merchant services card transaction processor.

All you have is the "Buyer Protection Policy" which, because of the above, isn't enforceable in the English Courts, despite the claims in the contract between you and Paypal.

We've previously lost money because of this when we paid a Northern Irish company for goods via Paypal that turned out to be broken when delivered. None of the cost of sending them back was refundable under the BPP but if we didn't send them back then we wouldn't get a penny.

Never use Paypal! They relocated to Belgium in 1997 so that they wouldn't be regulated by the FSA in the UK. Says it all really.

anya85

I have reported to gumtree 5 times about what happened to be with nora palmer.couples days ago i saw thies same pushchair whichi boughted again on gumtree but from diffrent town.reported to gumtree and not heard anything again.im thinking to contact local newspaper to make sure people are safe buyer because is not fair with us that police and gumtree is not doing anything.Also i think royal mail and parcel force should do something as well.

seoyazilimlari

ukash kart bu adresten satın alma işlemlerini ukash-kart.com adresinde veya buraya tıklayarak ukash kart satın alabilirsiniz

jimiclapton

Well, what can I say. Looks like the devious, conniving "Nora Palmer" has just made herself another illegitimate couple of quid.

I'm a guitarist and was looking for a cheap bass guitar for the purpose of recording some material at home. I play electric 6-string and not bass usually so I didn't want to spend too much money.
I searched Gumtree and came across a listing for a bass guitar which matched my requirements perfectly.
It was a Squier guitar (cheaper versions of Fenders) which was ideal for what I wanted and at a very reasonable asking price, so I duly contacted the seller.
I first received a text from "Nora" which read

It's Nora from gumtree(Fender Squier P-Bass In Sunburst With Hard Case),if you have any questions email me NORAPALMER75(@)gmail.com

At the time I wondered why someone would text you asking you to email them? They have already established contact via one medium, why ask to move to another?
Still, I proceeded and emailed "Nora"

The response that came was this;

Hi xxxxxx,
Don't know if it's been long since you've emailed, I've been out so couldn't follow up on my text message. Can't promise anything but visiting my mum shortly, wouldn't mind making a drop off . If you'll send me your postcode I can check out on my satnav the distance to yours.

Reasonable price and accurate description, it's worth the money, no bad surprises. I won't go any lower.

Can be reached on 07747516575 low signal strength area but check emails regularly.
Ta,
Nora.
P.S. Will take cash only.

This initially aroused my suspicions again. How could you possibly not know how long it had been since you received an email. The date and time is clearly visible, is it not? The inclusion of the phone number and general human tone, for want of a better description, was enough to reassure me.
I replied to "Nora" again stating that I was based in London and that if it wasn't possible for her to drop off the guitar I would arrange collection.
Reply

Unfortunately I've just got called into the office (i get sent countrywide with less than 24hrs notice) so very busy till next week. Back at work we have some shipments for large items with parcelforce all week long. Just thought it would save you time and hassle if I'll send it along with them free of charge company benefits .

I asked around and it seems you can pay cash upon delivery/inspection. It's quite simple since they're able to wait for you to check it out, if not as described they can just void the shipment with no extra charge.

If that's alright with you I'll need a name, address, contact number and also date&time suitable for the delivery.
Working long hours so If you want to pop in and pick it up you'll have to wait till next week or so when hopefully I'll get my head around
Let me know either way.
Nora.

You can check out Nora's profile on Google+ here :

Again, the tone of the email is very convincing, so I went with it. Seemed perfectly plausible to use company mailing facilities. I do it myself when I am unable to arrange postage for eBay items, for example, due to my working hours.
Also, note the inclusion of a link to a Google+ account (removed as per forum rules). Because the link hadn't appeared on any previous emails in the thread I noticed it straight away, standing out against the plain text, so I clicked the link. As far as I could see "Nora" existed.

I told "Nora" that her suggested method of delivery would be convenient and stated a day I would like postage for. "Nora" confirmed a date and asked for my address, which I gave. The next reply was...

Booked it. Great, I've just finished filling out the forms online and Parcel Force will handle payment as well, you'll need cash. You should receive email notifications on how to proceed. Get back to me if you don't receive them and if you have any queries, glad to help.
Nora.
P.S. If not in your inbox check your junk or spam folder also.

In hindsight, and it really is a wonderful thing, I can now clearly see all of the inconsistencies and red flags which I missed. More on those later.
In my response to this I asked "Nora" about the payment method. She responded.

You'll need cash to buy the voucher. Here paypoint.co.uk you can find the nearest shop and ask for the ukash voucher.
Nora.

The next thing I received was an email from"Parcelforce Worldwide" <Royal-Mail-Group@consultant.com>"
which looked like a legitimate order/delivery confirmation email and contained all the information you would expect to see in such an email. Of course it did, because in reality it was all the information I had provided "Nora" with up to this point.

Important delivery information
Temporary parcel number: PBIE553943476 *Pending - Not valid to track online* Packaged Goods: Fender Squier P-Bass In Sunburst With Hard Case Declared value: £40.00 Status: In progress(Arrived at delivery depot)

The email advised that the payment should be made within 24 hours which implied a sense of urgency, giving instructions on how to do so.

Payment required within 24 hours:
Instructions:

1. Find a corner shop, newsagent, convenience store, supermarket or outlet that has the PayPoint sign as you can see bellow:
2. Ask the shopkeeper for a £40.00 voucher.
3. Reply to this invoice directly with a readable scan or a photo of the UKASH receipt.
4. Our department will automatically validate your voucher and release the parcel out for delivery.
5. The delivery agent will call you on *07973623483* 1 hour prior to delivery. You are able to inspect the contents and if satisfied you will need to sign for it. If not, our agent will do a bank transfer and return the parcel as rejected.

Parcel Force Package Inspection Department

Now I did think that the payment method was strange, but I also know that this particular payment method is used to pay for things such as mobile phone vouchers and certain household bills. Again, I proceeded and paid at a convenience store round the corner from my residence.
I received a receipt for the payment, the details of which I passed on to what I thought was Parcelforce and received this reply

*** This e-mail is an automated notification ***

Your payment was received. Please allow up to 24 hours for the voucher number to be validated.
Parcel Force Package Inspection Department
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in and accompanying this communication may be confidential and is intended solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient of this communication please delete and destroy all copies immediately.
Parcelforce Worldwide is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Parcelforce Worldwide's principal office is Lytham House, 25 Caldecotte Lake Drive, Milton Keynes, MK7 8LE. Royal Mail Group VAT registration number: GB243170002

That was the last I heard and was received on a Monday I believe.
Toward the end of the week I recalled that my parcel was due for delivery on the Saturday, as arranged.
On the Saturday morning I called up Parcelforce to inquire as to the whereabouts of the parcel so I could find out if it was out on delivery etc. I was asked to state the tracking number to the automated voice and was transferred to a human representative when the computer failed to recognise the tracking number for the third time. This is when alarm bells started ringing.

The representative took the tracking ID and told me that it hadn't been recognised because it contained too many digits and the letters and numbers contained within didn't follow the usual Parcelforce sequence.
She asked if I had paid by a certain type of payment method and then confirmed that somebody had called her no less than 10mins earlier with the same story.
I asked her if I had been defrauded, she apologised and said that there was a good chance I had been.

At that moment everything fell into place, like at the end of a film where the plot is unraveled. I had been scammed!

When I conducted a Google search for the email "Nora" had been using I came across this thread and just had to share my experience.

I would NEVER go so far as to commend anyone for any unscrupulous or illegitimate activity but I have to hand it to this person. They're good. Very good. So good that I am not even angry at the thought of having been duped.
This is such an elaborate form of deception that whilst it's happening, even if you have doubts, you're reassured at every turn without it really occurring to you that you might unwittingly be falling prey to a scam.

I only lost £40. I say only, of course any loss of money in this way is deplorable and unfortunate but there are people in this thread who report having lost many hundreds of pounds. My £40 is comparatively nothing and I feel almost lucky, if I may use that word, that this is all this lesson cost me.
I have used eBay pretty much since it's inception, I have transacted literally thousands and thousands of pounds over the internet as a vendor and buyer at many online marketplaces in the last 10 years but NEVER have I come across anything as Watchdog worthy as this.

***RED FLAGS***
As I mentioned before, in hindsight there are some pretty glaring red flags.

• "Nora" warns me to check my junk or spam folder for the Parcelforce confirmation. This is not just friendly advice, "Nora" is covering herself. Spam and phishing emails are detected and sent to your spam folder for very good reason and the algorithms that detect spam are very accurate. Have a look at the contents of your spam folder, what do you see?

• "Nora" stated that the parcel would be sent free of charge to me because it would be sent using the facilities of the company she worked for. If the postage costs are covered, why then would I pay the asking price of the guitar (£40) to the delivery company when they are indeed a delivery company and not a payment intermediary or payment collection service?

• The delivery confirmation I received was from Royal-Mail-Group@consultant.com. Parcelforce is indeed a trading name of Royal Mail Group, but this email address is not one that I would associate with Royal Mail Group. The inclusion of hyphens is a giveaway. Scammers use hyphens in email address and domain names because they unhyphenated versions are taken by the the legitimate business. Also, an email address is often a sub-address of a main website or domain name. Think of your.name @ yourcompany . com. If you type in www . yourcompany . com you should reach the website of the company you work for. If you navigate to www . consultant . com as in this case, you will not see anything that pertains to Royal Mail Group or Parcelforce.

• In the emails I received which were purportedly from the delivery company, they are referred to as both "Parcel Force" and "Parcelforce". Such inconsistencies, poor grammar and spelling mistakes are a common feature of fraudulent emails

I could go on forever.


The moral of this story is as ever, if something is too good to be true, then it probably is. That bargain designer handbag? That excellent value pushchair? It's okay to be cynical if it means you won't be left out of pocket.

When buying from Gumtree, have items delivered in person by the seller to you or collect them yourself and pay cash on inspection.
If you are unable to do so, pay for the items using a traceable payment service (eg PayPal) and use a trackable delivery service. Also, buy items from marketplaces with recognised customer dispute facilities such as eBay.

I hope I am the last person to fall prey to this truly despicable, dishonest person and I hope that this does not dissuade you from using the internet to buy and trade.

Regards


Jimi.

leeuk_2

The Honda generator that i was nearly scammed out of £260 for by this con artist has yet again been listed on gumtree,

nearlyscrewed

Well well well!"
I would like to do a bit of cyber sleuthing to catch this person! Day off work, so will give it a shot!
Current Ad I nearly fell for on Gumtree
.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/lpkf-protomat-c60-pcb-plotterplotting-mill-with-vacuum-system-fully-working/105232693

got the same email messages about them visiting mum, parcel force.. .how tiresome!

£810 its a bargain, but too good to be true, these are about £15000 new plus some!

UKASH is operating illegally if no form of identity is required to obtain payments, its going against the Anti Money Laundering laws introduced a few years ago in the UK

So, after getting scammed by the famous Roulette computer scammer in Australia who was exposed by a genuine supplier in the UK, I have being bent on getting revenge on these people. Read more about this scam and how its actually done at stevenhourmouzis.com and his previous imprisonment for internet fraud. There is even a copy of his court case there! Again, the authorities have done nothing there too, Reported to the Police, the ACCC and the trading standards there along with 30 other victims. Thats another story so I won't go on too much, but a genuine supplier of such equipment that I visited in the UK exposed him and spotted how he was faking his videos! This was my first and last time I were going to get scammed on the net.

So today, will spend a bit of time tracking this criminal down with this gumtree scam, it cannot be that hard surely to find the people responsible? got the name John Mohn coming up, interesting for angela75 Murray. They are not that clever, same dates, hmmm.

will come back later to tell you what I have found;)

So be careful out there with UKASH

no one is a fool here, this UKASH is operating illegally in the UK!

beingearnest123

Some interesting links, comments to share with others and police.
Check out whocallsme.com and enter: 07747516575

Please keep posting your experiences and any new info, change of Mobile or email or name for the scammer.