To think I’ve been an idiot (scammed)

[PurpleThistles84]

My daughters birthday is next month and she asked for a Nintendo switch lite. Being a family of seven money is quite tight so when I came across one for sale via fb market place for £100 I was delighted. Made contact, the gentleman seemed genuine, he was selling it for his grandson, was postage only because of the coronavirus. I paid by bank transfer over a week ago, he said he would let me know when it was posted.

I have heard nothing and today his Facebook profile has disappeared so I know I’ve been scammed and there is nothing I can do about it is there. I also know I’ve only myself to blame, I should have insisted on PayPal payment at least but he said he had never used it and being ‘Elderly’ I accepted that.

I do feel quite upset however, with all this coronavirus stuff going on, I guess I thought people would be being kind to each other, but there you go.

[understandme]

Truth I've seen you victim blame on a few threads before. Is that how you get your kicks?

Yes very likely!

[Truthpact]

@understandme

How? Because I'm not going 'poor you, that sucks'? I feel sorry for her, but feeling sorry for her won't help her spot a scammer in the future. Telling her to check prices and to be cautious if it sounds too good to be true is helpful.

If you don't agree, don't listen to me.

[Butterymuffin]

Do report it OP. You've already accepted the loss but some scammers are more careless than others. It might help others to be aware of this type of approach too.

[Truthpact]

Where have I victim blamed before?

[Myfriendanxiety]

You definitely need to report it. You have plenty of details and also have his bank details which means the police can trace him.

[PurpleThistles84]

It’s okay @truthpact is right, I really should have known better, I am usually quite clued up, I think I just wanted my girl to have what she wanted for her birthday instead of just saying to her that it was going to cost too much just now.

[MaliceOrgan]

Let Action Fraud know (as well as your bank). CV-19 is leaving us all more vulnerable to being scammed and I am sorry it's happened to you.

[understandme]

@Truthpact


How? Because I'm not going 'poor you, that sucks'?

Because you're victim blaming and have prior form for it apparently.

If you don't agree, don't listen to me.

I'm not listening to you, I like a few others are calling you out on your behaviour.

[Dieu]

I was in an identical situation a while back. I didn't get any money back from the bank, and I did ask. I had even made the bank transfer in person at the bank, as I'm a recent convert to online banking. You'd think the penny would have dropped for them, when the money went into a non-standard bank account, but hey.
So I'd have thought you definitely won't get your money back. Sorry
I did inform the police, and couldn't believe how seriously they took it! It was part of a much bigger thing, I reckon.

[TinRoofRusty]

I do feel quite upset however, with all this coronavirus stuff going on, I guess I thought people would be being kind to each other, but there you go.

Dear god, people have really bought into an idea that Armageddon is nigh.

CV-19 is leaving us all more vulnerable to being scammed and I am sorry it's happened to you.

No, no, it isn't leaving all more vulnerable to being scammed.

It sucks but Truth is correct, always do research when buying second hand and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[hiptobeasquare]

You can report them to trading standards via citizens advice at this number. 0808 223 1133
You can ask if you bank is part of the voluntary code for authorised push payments which help you recover your money if you’ve done a bank transfer which was a scam.
www.ukfinance.org.uk/press/press-releases/app-scams-voluntary-code-seven-launch

[TinRoofRusty]

Can you get it on a catalogue? That might be possible.

[Butterymuffin]

Dear god, people have really bought into an idea that Armageddon is nigh.

Wow, 30,000 people dead in this country alone not Armageddony enough for you @TinRoofRusty? Tough crowd.

[PurpleThistles84]

@dieu I’m sorry this happened to you too.

[hoodathunkit]

So sorry that this has hapened to you OP

Please try not to beat yourself up about it, lots of people, including clever people, fall for scams every day

Not only that but more people are desperate to get money if they are worried about their jobs so they are resorting to scamming unfortunately. Its a time to be extra vigilant and always use either credit card or PayPal. More likely to get your money back then.

I have done a fair amout of research into scams and in my experience, while scammers come in all shapes and sizes, the majority of online scams are operated by large criminal networks operating internationally.

You may ask why a large criminal network would bother with scamming a struggling mum for £100?

The fact is that they place countless ads on social media and scam thousands of people every hour. Other people probably were scammed by the same ad that the OP fell for.

This is very big business and the people who do it consider it to be their job and they are good at what they do.

OP, try to consider this as a learning experience. If something is advertised online and seems too good to be true it probably is. Never, ever pay by bank transfer. Paying by PayPal offers buyer protection as long as you comply with their rules.

Paying by credit card also offers some protection.

You could have been scammed for sonsiderably more than this, so try to consider it an educational experience that cost you £100 but that could save you money in the long term.

[TinRoofRusty]

No, Buttery, it's not. It's very sad. The UK has a population of 66m. It would take much more for Armaggedon. Although, with huge economic collapse, that might not be impossible.

[hoodathunkit]

oops please excuse the typos

[NekoShiro]

Just saying, the Nintendo switchlite is a brand new console itself, didn't it only come out last year?

Scans are rampant right now, I'm getting nonstop scam emails, a lot of people are shuddering and as such turning to crime to try to make do, call your bank explain what happened, call the police and again explain what happened.

[MrsRobinsonsHandprints]

And that is exactly what the acammers look for, our desire to make our children happy is a weakness that acammers wish to exploit. I don't think Truth was being unkind.
Regards checking up on the fb person I learnt on here the lengths scammmers go to to make everything look real. The post was called devsale about someone who lost a lot of money buying a car. I thought I was savvy but I could see how people fell for it.

[NekoShiro]

Oh and I bought my switch through very, due to the price the buy now pay later time frame is a year, I'm paying £25 a month for it but a switch lite is less

[Dieu]

Och, I'm over it now. Thanks though
Tell you what though, lesson learned! I have never fallen for anything like it again x

[DoubleTweenQueen]

I'm so sorry this has happened to you X

[Truthpact]

I have done a fair amout of research into scams and in my experience, while scammers come in all shapes and sizes, the majority of online scams are operated by large criminal networks operating internationally.

Oh yeah the majority are large crime groups, a large portion of my job is spotting scammers. But I do worry that more people will start resorting to crime to pay their bills. Although they could easily just be brought into an organised crime group, that happens in the most unlikely places sometimes.

[hoodathunkit]

No, no, it isn't leaving all more vulnerable to being scammed.

Some people educate themselves about scams in various ways, whether through attending professional courses or by researching the issues online at the many consumer protection websites that expose scammers, engage in scam baiting etc.

Many people only take the trouble to educate themselves after they have been scammed. In such cases the intial scam is an educative, if painful, experience.

One thing that is important to understand is that absolutely anyone can be scammed.

You can be a veteran at 419 Eater, the eBay community message boards (where lots of distressed people post having been scammed), you can read and internally digest the entire contents of the Action Fraud wesbite, watch all the films about scams ever made, read all the books, watch the entire series of The Real Hustle, attend a proper academic course on fraud and still get scammed.

Nobody is immune to being scammed and people who claim that they are are simply announcing a vulnerablity to scammers

[TinRoofRusty]

Yes, everyone can be scammed, but not all due to coronavirus. Of course, the situation is an opportunity for scammers, but not all are more vulnerable due to CV19. I've been ripped off by a scam car dealer. I didn't do my research.