Loot scam

jshannon

Just wanted to put 'out there' a message to beware of the Loot website - there are people operating a scam on there. My son wanted to buy an iphone 5s from the site. I (stupidly) said that he could (although I thought the item was cheap (£50) and didn't check the site's small print first - it was all such a hurry. I pressed the 'contact advertiser' button on the item and someone emailed me. I asked them how to make payment and he said they were a compny called 'Loot Direct' that his 'customer services' would call me. Another bloke phoned me and told me to make a payment via UKash and told me where the nearest shop was where I could do this. I went and did this (it is a cash payment via a machine where you get a receipt. I then had to email the receipt number to them (which allows them to get the money). They said the iphone would be posted that evening. When it did not arrive I checked the Loot website and then saw the information on there regarding scams! I then feared the worst and rang the mobile number that the bloke had used to call me. He told me the iphone should come the next day. Needless to say, it didn't turn up! He then told me they would refund the money - I asked for a cheque - which again hasn't turned up! I bet they are having a laugh at our expense and stupidity by now! I have tried to contact Loot - but cannot find a phone number. They are not responding to my emails as yet. Just wanted to warn you all about this as there are loads more ads for these iphones on this site. I don't want anyone else, like I did, to stupidly fall for this scam.

custardy

jshannon wrote: »

Just wanted to put 'out there' a message to beware of the Loot website - there are people operating a scam on there. My son wanted to buy an iphone 5s from the site. I (stupidly) said that he could (although I thought the item was cheap (£50) and didn't check the site's small print first - it was all such a hurry. I pressed the 'contact advertiser' button on the item and someone emailed me. I asked them how to make payment and he said they were a compny called 'Loot Direct' that his 'customer services' would call me. Another bloke phoned me and told me to make a payment via UKash and told me where the nearest shop was where I could do this. I went and did this (it is a cash payment via a machine where you get a receipt. I then had to email the receipt number to them (which allows them to get the money). They said the iphone would be posted that evening. When it did not arrive I checked the Loot website and then saw the information on there regarding scams! I then feared the worst and rang the mobile number that the bloke had used to call me. He told me the iphone should come the next day. Needless to say, it didn't turn up! He then told me they would refund the money - I asked for a cheque - which again hasn't turned up! I bet they are having a laugh at our expense and stupidity by now! I have tried to contact Loot - but cannot find a phone number. They are not responding to my emails as yet. Just wanted to warn you all about this as there are loads more ads for these iphones on this site. I don't want anyone else, like I did, to stupidly fall for this scam.

A £50 Iphone 5s. Scam straight away.
Sadly the type of people who fall for this wont be reading your warning.

wealdroam

Why are you trying to contact Loot?

This scan isn't confined to Loot.
Can be found almost anywhere, e.g. Gumtree.
The warnings are there on both Loot and Gumtree.

On every Loot ad it says "BUY SAFELY - DO NOT MAKE A PAYMENT BEFORE RECEIVING AN ITEM!"

On every Gumtree ad it says "Meet face to face, never send payment for items you've not seen".

chickendipperbabe

This type of scam is as old as the hills.

As the saying goes if it looks too good to be true then it usually is.

wealdroam

OP, forget the internet for a moment...

If someone stopped you in the street today and offered you an iphone5s for £50, and he said meet me tomorrow at this exact same place, would you give him the £50 today and trust him to return tomorrow with the phone?

Of course you wouldn't.

maninthestreet

If you are asked to pay via UKash or any other money transfer system such as Western Union or Moneygram, it's a scam - note that UKash, WU and Moneygram are perfectly legitimate and respectable businesses, but should only be used to transfer money to individuals you actually know, never to pay up-front for goods or services.

Garry1308

Hi, I would just like you to know I was as gullible as yourself only this week and fell for it. I paid £100 and I even tried another tonight (was never intending on going through to purchase) and he admitted to me in email it was a scam and he was making £5k a week through people like me that were stupid enough to try and buy an iPhone for £100. He also said I deserved to be scammed for being stupid enough to believe I could get a phone so cheap. It's more annoying to me that Loot don't seem to want to do anything about it either so it will continue to happen unfortunately.

wealdroam

Garry1308 wrote: »

It's more annoying to me that Loot don't seem to want to do anything about it either so it will continue to happen unfortunately.

But Loot do warn every potential purchaser.

As mentioned in post #3:

On every Loot ad it says "BUY SAFELY - DO NOT MAKE A PAYMENT BEFORE RECEIVING AN ITEM!"

Sorry for repeating that, but appears that no-one ever reads these warnings.

agrinnall

Garry1308 wrote: »

He also said I deserved to be scammed for being stupid enough to believe I could get a phone so cheap.

It's quite hard to advance an argument against the scammer's view other than on the grounds of morality - perhaps you'll think a bit more critically before handing over money to a stranger for a 'too good to be true' bargain in the future.

Garry1308

I know what you're saying but Loot also say most of their adds are legitimate. There are thousands of iPhone scams on their site so why do they allow that?

soolin

Garry1308 wrote: »

I know what you're saying but Loot also say most of their adds are legitimate. There are thousands of iPhone scams on their site so why do they allow that?

Loot do not vet every advert placed, that's why they have warnings reminding buyers basically to use their common sense .