Gumtree - Bank transfer scam ???

leahw38

Hi,
I'm selling a phone on gumtree and was contacted by someone offering full asking and said they want to pay by paypal and will pay an extra £20 for me to post the item. Very pushy asking for paypal info I was very suspicious because there was no questions about the phone and didnt question the price at all.

I told them I wouldnt accept paypal on bank transfer (I have heard of lots of paypal scams) as I believe bank transfer to be the safest option. I thought I wouldnt hear of them again but they have messaged again saying okay they will pay by bank transfer and need 
Account number
Sort code
Bank name 
Email address

Again I somehow feel like it's a scam, asking for the email address raised concerns for me.

Is this a scam and if so what scam is it?
I can't figure out how they would scam me but I feel uncomfortable about it so wanted to check

theonlywayisup

leahw38 said:

Hi,
I'm selling a phone on gumtree and was contacted by someone offering full asking and said they want to pay by paypal and will pay an extra £20 for me to post the item. Very pushy asking for paypal info I was very suspicious because there was no questions about the phone and didnt question the price at all.

I told them I wouldnt accept paypal on bank transfer (I have heard of lots of paypal scams) as I believe bank transfer to be the safest option. I thought I wouldnt hear of them again but they have messaged again saying okay they will pay by bank transfer and need 
Account number
Sort code
Bank name 
Email address

Again I somehow feel like it's a scam, asking for the email address raised concerns for me.

Is this a scam and if so what scam is it?
I can't figure out how they would scam me but I feel uncomfortable about it so wanted to check

Gumtree is a face to face platform.
If you feel it's not quite right then don't part with anything - information or property.
The Paypal scam is very common, and goes hand in hand with the £x to send the item quickly.

soolin

A proper bank transfer is completely safe, however a scammer will work a variation of the old scam and send a message purporting to be from your bank saying that you have funds of XX waiting to be credited to your account and these will be released once you supply a tracking number to show items has been sent.  It only works if people actually believe banks offer an escrow service. When taking a bank transfer always check you have cleared fu ds in your account before posting anything. 

All these scams work on people not doing the most basic of checks and relying solely on a dodgy email. A bit of common sense will protect any seller . 

leahw38

soolin said:

A proper bank transfer is completely safe, however a scammer will work a variation of the old scam and send a message purporting to be from your bank saying that you have funds of XX waiting to be credited to your account and these will be released once you supply a tracking number to show items has been sent.  It only works if people actually believe banks offer an escrow service. When taking a bank transfer always check you have cleared fu ds in your account before posting anything. 

All these scams work on people not doing the most basic of checks and relying solely on a dodgy email. A bit of common sense will protect any seller . 

I was going to sent bank details for a empty savings account I have anyway I wasnt really concerned about the bank transfer because I know they are pretty safe I'm quite savvy with scams and would be gutted to get caught out, I couldnt work out what if any scam was trying to be pulled. I think I was more concerned by asking for my email address, I have never needed it when sending a bank transfer.

I may send the unused savings account details but not the email address

soolin

leahw38 said:

soolin said:

A proper bank transfer is completely safe, however a scammer will work a variation of the old scam and send a message purporting to be from your bank saying that you have funds of XX waiting to be credited to your account and these will be released once you supply a tracking number to show items has been sent.  It only works if people actually believe banks offer an escrow service. When taking a bank transfer always check you have cleared fu ds in your account before posting anything. 

All these scams work on people not doing the most basic of checks and relying solely on a dodgy email. A bit of common sense will protect any seller . 

I was going to sent bank details for a empty savings account I have anyway I wasnt really concerned about the bank transfer because I know they are pretty safe I'm quite savvy with scams and would be gutted to get caught out, I couldnt work out what if any scam was trying to be pulled. I think I was more concerned by asking for my email address, I have never needed it when sending a bank transfer.

I may send the unused savings account details but not the email address

They need your email address for the dodgy email they send 😲

leahw38

soolin said:

leahw38 said:

soolin said:

A proper bank transfer is completely safe, however a scammer will work a variation of the old scam and send a message purporting to be from your bank saying that you have funds of XX waiting to be credited to your account and these will be released once you supply a tracking number to show items has been sent.  It only works if people actually believe banks offer an escrow service. When taking a bank transfer always check you have cleared fu ds in your account before posting anything. 

All these scams work on people not doing the most basic of checks and relying solely on a dodgy email. A bit of common sense will protect any seller . 

I was going to sent bank details for a empty savings account I have anyway I wasnt really concerned about the bank transfer because I know they are pretty safe I'm quite savvy with scams and would be gutted to get caught out, I couldnt work out what if any scam was trying to be pulled. I think I was more concerned by asking for my email address, I have never needed it when sending a bank transfer.

I may send the unused savings account details but not the email address

They need your email address for the dodgy email they send 😲

Really, that's it 😕 I would check the bank before sending the phone and even transfer the money to a different account, I dont open emails from the bank anyway straight to delete 😂

I suppose I was concerned about them trying to hack my email - although I'm okay of banking and money scams I dont know understand a lot able how they can use email addresses to scam you.

in_the_Cotswolds

I've had this when I tried selling my old phone on Gumtree.  They will keep saying they have paid trying to force you into a quick sale.  If they say they have paid by Paypal always log into your account separately not via their link.  I found emails in my junk folder.

[Deleted User]

Create a new email address and give them it just to test the waters. Play them along for a bit just to waste their time. 

Spoonie_Turtle

MarkN88 said:

Create a new email address and give them it just to test the waters. Play them along for a bit just to waste their time. 

It would be the unltimate irony if you could scam the scammer - not that you should actually scam them, but you could still get the money for a phone you don't want/need any more and as a bonus leave them with something they don't want either

leahw38

MarkN88 said:

Create a new email address and give them it just to test the waters. Play them along for a bit just to waste their time. 

Thanks - I have done that, I know its somehow a scam not sure what the get from it other than possibly hacking my email and then getting personal info

soolin

leahw38 said:

MarkN88 said:

Create a new email address and give them it just to test the waters. Play them along for a bit just to waste their time. 

Thanks - I have done that, I know its somehow a scam not sure what the get from it other than possibly hacking my email and then getting personal info

You can’t just hack an email , a scammer can only get access if you fall for a phishing email or have an easily guessed password. Whilst we do need to be ultra vigilant on line we mustn’t fall for the the urban myths that people can somehow just magically gain access to your accounts, eBay or Facebook (whatever) just by looking at it.