ukautotrader - buying a second handcar from a stranger

dacouch

deedodd33 wrote: »

Why can the police get into the bank accounts then and find answers!!!

The bank accounts are probably set up used forged documents or are of genuine people who have responded to gumtree job adverts offering them commission for receiving funds through their bank accounts.

alan_s_combe

The car advert that I was conned with is still on Gumtree despite me e mailing them twice. No doubt they will claim no liability.
I contacted my bank on Tuesday night andd explained the situation and was told that they would not pass me on to their24 hour" fraud department because they had merely carried out our request. They told me to go to the police
No liability there then
The Police informed me that it was a "civil" matter and i shouild report it in the morning to my bank.
I went home and contacted Barclays Bank Fraud Department explaining the situation. Their response was that they would take action to assist. Therefore they were advised that this was a fraudulent account being used for criminal purposes. Other victims have given Barclays the same details When I followed this up with a call today I was told that I had to go through my own bank the Clydesdale Bank. No doubt Barclays will claim no liability
Back to the CB and their fraud dept in Leeds then had to contact Barclays Fraud team meanwhile my hard earned cash is winging its way to Poland.
No wonder these crooks can get away with it.

Happytohelp

I understand what you are going through if you have fallen for this scam. I also got scammed for several thousand pounds many years ago and it left me feeling sick to the stomach. I just couldn’t let it go and pursued every avenue I knew in an attempt to try and get the criminals caught.

A very wise man gave me some advice which I will share with you. I was told to accept what had happened as one of life’s lessons. The lesson had cost me the amount of the scam. If I am sensible I should never fall for a similar scam again and if so, the cost of my lesson is not that bad over a lifetime.

What we all should remember is; if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If we are completely honest with ourselves our motivation is greed. The thought of buying a car worth £5,000 which will only cost us £3,000 gets the adrenaline flowing. The explanation from the scammer sounds far-fetched, but you convince yourself everything is okay. It is known as confirmation bias. We find reasons to justify and back-up the scam, when in fact it would make more sense to question it and look for the flaws in the story.

Have a read of this article about the psychological principles of scams which hopefully may help someone avoid being scammed more than once.

wazza

Am keen to see the advert. Can someone post it or pm it plz?

alan_s_combe

re happyto help

Totally agree with you.
I will move on, be stronger and wiser and work harder.
I have a wonderful wife, 2 great kids and will enjoy every day whether birthday, holiday, Christmas or whatever.
The scum who carry out these frauds will never be able to do this because their greed will be eating into them, they will always be looking over their shoulders and God willing one day get their comeuppence.


If it looks too good to be true then it probably is!!!!!

ashleypride

deedodd33 wrote: »

Why can the police get into the bank accounts then and find answers!!!

They do and by that time it is too late.

Police will only investigate when there is evidence of a crime, when it is reported to them it will be seen as a civil issue. When there has been more evidence it is still seen as low priority and might get investigated. (Willing victims have readily given their money off to strangers in search for pie in the sky claims)

By the time the bank has seen sufficient evidence of fraud on the account, or the police get involved the scammer has long gone with the money.

The bank accounts are muled accounts, or setup with forged documents. The scammers make sure the trail of money cannot be followed, and will more than likely be operating outside of the UK.

Don't expect the bank or Police to help you. Its upto you to protect yourself.

alan_s_combe

I have e mailed Gumtree 3 times about this scam
Ad ref no Ad ref 101233895
Guess what not only is the advert still on the pages but it has been refreshed,
I have recieved not even an acknowledgement from this bunch of amateurs
The man on the street will see that Gumtree are party to this fraud
Do not buy anything through Gumtree They are crooks !!!

Maybe someone from this bunch of charlatans will contact me now but until then I will tell everyone and anyone

DO NOT USE GUMTREE They are crooks

sue me if you wish but I have no money

alan_s_combe

Please do not buy anything through GUMTREE

MaheenS

Hi,
I just read here that a lot of you were also victims of this fraud. And I want to say that the same thing happened to me just last week.
I have lost £3900 to that 'adam nowak' guy and gbautotraders.
However, when I called my bank to ask if they can do something about this fraud, they said that I can get my money back if I get the police to contact them. I'm not sure if that will work, but I'm willing to try.

In the meantime, I had called Action Fraud and filed a case for this scam. They have taken all the details of it and said they will do their best to catch them. I would advise all of you to call them at:

Action Fraud
03001232040

This was given to me from a friend who works in the police, and he said that they will give you a crime reference which you can then take to your local police to find a way to get your money back. Rather than going through the long process of reporting to them first, and waiting for the police to take action.

So I'd advise you all to contact Action Fraud so that they raise public awareness of this scam, and also take action against Gumtree which is openly allowing these scams to take place.

Thanks.

alan_s_combe

******Fraud alert *****
Guess what their back again with a different scam !!!!!!!!!!!
Here is what they want me to do

Just spoke to my wife and we can arrive in Edinburgh on Tuesday evening so we can have our meeting on Wensday at noon if this works for you.
Few days ago a person told me that he is very interested to buy the car and i need to fly to UK to make the transaction as soon as I can .I came to Plymouth next day because I trusted his word, but when I arrived I called him and he never answered me again. It's not about the money for the plane tickets but i lost 2 working days for nothing.
The time it's very precious for me.I am a genuine person and he disappointed me.
I just want to know if you really intend to buy the car because for this time I will fly to UK only if i have an insurance. I just want to see that you are a serious person and will be no problem if you don't want to buy the car.I need to be sure that you will be there.I spoke with my wife about this and we have a proposal for you. If you accept our proposal, we can come to the meeting as we agreed.

I need astrong reason to come to UK and the best way it's to transfer £2800 ON YOUR NAME via Western Union.You have to find a Western Union office near you and ask a relative or a friend to send the money to your name to Edinburgh. Your friend or relative will go with your cash at w.u. and send the money (he/she will be the sender name) to your name so you will be receiver of the money.When the transfer it's made you have to send a scanned copy of the W.U. receipt. In this way I will be sure that I have a serious buyer with cash money available.
If you decide to buy the car after you will test it we will go to Western Union and you will pick up your money and pay me cash .
I will help you with the documents.
So as you can see I am not asking you to send money to me . You will be the receiver of the money and ONLY you can pick the money from Western Union only in Edinburgh/UK .

Please understand that I am not asking for an advance payment, the only one who can pick up the money from Edinburgh is you.I do not have access to your money, I just want to see you have the money so i don't fly from Germany for nothing.
This transfer will cost you about £50. As soon as we meet I will pay you back this money. It doesn't matter if you will decide to buy the car or not. This way you have nothing to lose.

We hope you understand our message and also we don't want to seem rude but it's a long way for a blind date. Please inform us about your decision.
Thank you!

E mail address [EMAIL="Marvinjames2211@hotmail.com"]Marvinjames2211@hotmail.com[/EMAIL]

Have informed Gumtree but know they will do nothing. PLease pass on to anyone considering buying acar from Gumtree.