Urgh. Fallen for a scam

[BingeOnChocolate]

Yep. I know I know, Facebook market place is full of scammers and I should definitely know better but I was sucked up in thinking I was finally going to get my hands on a dyson airwrap complete. I've been wanting one for ages but every time I go to buy it, it's out of stock so resorted to second hand.

Scammer said they moved due to studies, which seemed reasonable as I checked the profile, and said they would post today recorded delivery if I wanted to bank transfer. Stupidly after even discussing with DP at the possibility of a scam I transferred the funds apparently to their 'dad' as 'she' had a new phone and didn't have her banking app set up yet. My banking app confirmed the name was a complete match which made me feel reassured and I did click I was buying online goods - hopefully that will help with any recall should funds remain. The scammer did send a photo of the parcel showing my address whilst in the post office but when asked for a tracking reference refused to provide one.

I resorted to asking a friend to message to see if it's available from their account. Low and behold, it apparently still is and they encountered the same spill I did

However, I have managed to locate the toe rags actual Facebook given their name is unusual as per the banking transfer. They are 17 and posted photos of mummy and daddy's car complete with number plates and subsequently found their mum's Facebook as a result of them commenting on the photo. Again, lots of public information including them holding a senior job in the NHS....

I have already reported to action fraud and my bank but the likelihood of having my money back is zilch. I'm half tempted to message the mum and ask if her child X has bank account ABC then I suggest they make arrangements to return the funds but equally don't want to get into a tit for tat. I know it's definitely them though as the sort code of the bank matches their Facebook location and google says it's a little village.

somewhat pointless thread so I can vent at how stupid and naive I was for a bloody hair styler.

Lesson firmly learnt and I'll just need to be quicker when the in stock emails land next time

Can you ask a friend to send a IM to the mum or alleged scammer on Facebook on a totally unrelated topic to the scam - maybe relating to a pic or holiday they have posted ? - if they get a response then you know she has seen your message.

hope you get it sorted! and you manage to get your Dyson as well :)

Everyone seems to presume the mum is unaware that her daughter is a scammer.
It seems much more likely that the mum is in on the scam, why else would the daughter use that bank account to collect funds. Also it’s possible that both Facebook accounts are actually fake.

@SilverBirchWithout

Everyone seems to presume the mum is unaware that her daughter is a scammer. It seems much more likely that the mum is in on the scam, why else would the daughter use that bank account to collect funds. Also it’s possible that both Facebook accounts are actually fake.

I'd say more than possible, highly likely. The most likely scenario here is either fake or stolen identities.

Think about it- teen scamming multiple people and dad getting the money into his account and not asking questions? How does teen get the money out of that account and into theirs? Either it's real and dad is in on it, or it's all a sophisticated scam (more likely)

Hopefully the police can get to the bottom of it. Hope you can get your money back, OP.

I think a friend of mine has fallen for the same scam. Were the initials SB, by any chance? Or maybe it's a more widespread scam at the moment.

I’d post a message on her page too and say that you’ve sent her a private message. She might not see the message as you are not her Fb friend and it goes into a folder called message requests which she might not look at

So the bank have provided me a refund - yay! They have said it's a gesture of goodwill as I have explained everything I done to make sure it was genuine including the account name matcher on the app. The lady said they will attempt to recover the funds from the scammers account to reimburse them internally which can take 30 days but they don't see why their customers should be at any detriment when, in their view, reasonable steps were taken. She did say though if I hadn't clicked the right option for the 'who you are transferring too' message I wouldn't be getting the money back as most click the first which is friends/family. Note to all: make sure you click the right transferring money reason

The mums not messaged me back nor read the message from what I can tell. I can't write on her wall as it will only let me view and share but not post anything. I guess when/if she sees the message she will be aware of what the right steps to either protect or stop her child are before it becomes more serious.

I hold very little hope out for action fraud as my online reading suggests as a PP said they are more for stats than investigating. It does say on their website you can report to crimestoppers too which I am swaying towards doing just so I know I've covered all basis. If they do pass the information to the police then I guess the mum will be aware soon enough.

Good news OP and thanks for sharing your experience - as it makes us all a little more aware of these things which is not not just about the money lost but the time and stress of following up and chasing around to try and sort things.

That's great news!

As your message may have gone into the "other" junk folder on FB, would sending her a friend request be a better way to get her attention?

The mums not messaged me back nor read the message from what I can tell.

How can you tell if a message has been read on messenger?

Glad to hear you got your money back!

The real scam is Dyson selling a fucking curling iron to gullible people for £600.

Nobody can tell whether you used a £20 one or a £600.

@SavageDetective it won't even let me said a friend request. She's definitely got her security settings all wrong given I can see what she posts about her child and life but shut off friend requests

@BoredZelda It turns to a circle with the persons picture in it over a circle with a tick - I was reading the different symbols last night and then tested them on DP messaging me

@PreparationPreparationPrep It's definitely made me more wary of using market place going forward and I'll never ever send money again. It will always be cash on collection which is a shame as I've previously brought books etc for DSD on market place as her reading confidence has grew and with Covid, some asked for bank transfers on collecting over cash to limit contact.

I would report them to the police. Not sure I would give the Mum a chance to refund first. Shd needs to be taught a lesson.

You got your money back. Good. I still think ig needs to be reported.

@RantyAunty

Glad to hear you got your money back!

The real scam is Dyson selling a fucking curling iron to gullible people for £600.

Nobody can tell whether you used a £20 one or a £600.

- I didn't know you could buy a hairdryer for that amount! But the OP will know the difference!

But I am now shamelessly researching because if t means no more sitting for hours under the dryer at the salon and I can dry and style my hair in a tenth of of the time at home - it might be worth dreaming of one.

Great that you have your money back.
The bank fraud team will investigate even if the police do nothing.

Good detective work btw OP!

@BoredZelda

The mums not messaged me back nor read the message from what I can tell.

How can you tell if a message has been read on messenger?

What device are you using? On my android app you tap on the picture of the person at the bottom left and it tells you when they read it. If it's a tick rather than the profile pic it means they haven't read it.

Great result OP, I buy and sell on marketplace and haven't had any bad experiences but mostly do in person cash on delivery.

I'm interested at what point you realised that it wasn't going to turn up? Did the scammer to the effort of making a label and going to a post office to take a picture then ghost you?

You have to admire the effort if not the critical thinking of how she'd get away with it

@BingeOnChocolate re the Dyson airwrap, I have the long barrels and I would say that it allows you to take larger sections of hair so the standard barrels would still work for you I believe.

One of the best instruction videos I saw before I bought mine 2 years ago was by Fleur and I section my hair the way she does hers. Her hair is probably the same length as mine, mine is bra strap length. The sections I take are larger than hers, I do 4 or 5 sections per side so it takes less time.

I will say that although I bought it with the long barrels not as an extra, they do not fit into the case which is designed for the shorter barrels which at the price they charge pissed me off. So you have to lie them down rather than standing them up as demonstrated when they are shown in the box, but they are only shown in the box for the standard barrels.

Mine was bought through Dyson so I could return them if they weren't a game changer.

The police are very limited in what they will do. Someone made 4 fraudulent applications from benefit in DH's name. The police said 'there is no evidence that a crime has been committed and it's not illegal to use someone else's name, only to receive the money as a result.'

@OnTheBenchOfDoom Thanks for the video! That was on my to do list once I had the airwrap but from what you've said, another PP has said it seems the standard length is sufficient for what I want it to do!

@AFuturisticalSound It was when I was explaining it to a colleague, all very excited, and then it dawned on me how stupid I'd been. I sent her the link to the ad and she messaged herself to see if it was available etc and the conversation that followed between her and scammer was the confirmation needed.

I hold very little hope out for action fraud as my online reading suggests as a PP said they are more for stats than investigating. It does say on their website you can report to crimestoppers too which I am swaying towards doing just so I know I've covered all basis. If they do pass the information to the police then I guess the mum will be aware soon enough

Glad you got your money back! You should definitely report it!

You can still use marketplace just use PayPal

That's great news you got your money back and let's hope justice catches up with the scammer(s)!