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.

[SuckingDownDarjeeling]

Please do report to the police OP. You may not get your money back (although there's an increased chance if you do report, compared to if you don't) but bank details are identifiable and if they're going to go on to do this to others then there needs to be a trail in order to catch them. Please please report it.

[TerrapinStation]

Some people educate themselves about scams in various ways

The most important education surely is to remember that if it seems too good to true, step the hell away from facebook marketplace, gumtree and bank transfers. That will go most of the way to keeping your money safe.

I know nothing about switches but any kind of phone or console on facebook or gumtree should be given a wide swerve unless you are able to see and test it before you hand over the money

[hoodathunkit]

Although they could easily just be brought into an organised crime group, that happens in the most unlikely places sometimes.

This is true

Big businesses don't like it when smaller entrepreneurs move into their territory.

Bigger fish eat little fish who eat smaller fish.

Kind of leads back to the point about the OP and the seemingly local small time scammer. Might look like a little fish, might even be a little fish but it could be in the jaws of a bigger fish, which itself might be in the jaws of a bigger fish and so it goes on

[hoodathunkit]

OP

I clicked YANBU

but if you are beating yourself up for "being an idiot" you ABU :)

I suspect other posters may have made the same mistake

[Misstomrs2016]

Hi op this same thing happened to me except it was a reborn doll for my daughter for her birthday I got in contact with my bank who were excellent and requested the money back it did take a few weeks but they recalled the money & I received it back in full I now only use PayPal as I was the same as u very trusting hope u sort it x

[MyCatHatesEverybody]

Why would an elderly gentleman be the one selling a Switch on behalf of his grandson when he doesn't even have paypal or similar? I guess we ignore the little warning signs when we want to believe something.

Sorry this has happened to you OP.

[MasakaBuzz]

I bought an older camera from Facebook Market Place that I really wanted. I paid by bank transfer. I knew I shouldn’t have done, but for the price £50, I was prepared to gamble. Had I lost my money then I would have had no one to blame but myself. As it happened the guy was telling the truth, he just wanted to get rid of it quickly to a good home. The camera arrived a few days later.

In those situations I never risk more than I am happy to lose. Sometimes it does work out okay.

[saleorbouy]

You should contact the bank fraud dept, accessed by the info on the back of your bank card. It might not come to anything in terms of returning your money but will raise flags in the future for other transfers to this bogus traders account.
Hope you manage to still make her birthday special.

[HollowTalk]

Surely by paying into his bank account you have enough to go to the police?

[Beautiful3]

I'm sorry that this happened to you. Try not to beat yourself up about it.

[sunglasses123]

Thing is sometimes there is a bargain. Kids have something and then literally grow out of it. I used to sell things just to get them out of the way sometimes at less than I should have.

A friend used to work for John Lewis and for Xmas she brought me some Clairns products at 20% on a price match and then another 25% using staff discount plus her John Lewis card where she collected point. So effectively nearly 50% off! I told my sister and she said it was a scam!

Having said that these people need to hang their heads in shame. They are rarely found. Thinking of someone who got hold of my credit card details without the card leaving my purse last year. They were stopped when they tried to order computer kit and I asked the card company whether I could be told what happened in the end after their investigations. They said for security reasons they couldnt!
I suspect nothing happened. They just write it off. That and the giant Macdonalds order they placed in Newcastle City Centre. Scumbags (and probably fat as anything!!)

[CountryCasual]

I think Facebook has been a real shit show for stuff like this since CV hit.

2 weeks after lockdown (3 weeks after my DS was born) my Facebook got hacked, hacker had gained access to the ancient Hotmail account I’d had over a decade ago and stripped out my new email and phone number from the account then locked me out.

FB doesn’t give a crap. I followed every ‘report compromised account’ option, it just sent me around in circles telling me I needed to put my password in (or an old password) to regain access. Then when I put my old password in it said ‘sorry you’ve used an old password’ my very genuine looking account (with all my mums groups and local selling sites) is no doubt being used to now scam vulnerable people like you OP but Facebook just don’t give a shit.

I even got 30+ of my friends to report my page as hacked - FB still havn’t done a thing!

[monkeymonkey2010]

There's nothing for you to feel ashamed about OP.
Plenty of people do business this way and don't get scammed - you just happened to come across a motherfucker who has no conscience.
He's deliberately selling it a 'bargain' price with a 'safe' backstory to go with his act knowing it will appeal mostly to those on a low income.
I wonder how many people he's doing this to?
He could be raking in thousands of pounds with this scam.

Please report it to the police.
They can trace the bank account and deal with him.

[Suzie6789]

Can you post a warning and his profile details on the fb page to warn others?
I’d also report this too both to Facebook and to your bank and Police if they’re interested.

[MaggieAndHopey]

@Truthpact
"So yeah it is helpful, if she listens."

It's only helpful if OP can magically go back in time and undo what's happened. Meanwhile, in the real world, people can't do that. So you're not being helpful, you're being a twat.

[AvalancheKit]

Scammers just tailor what they are selling to what is in demand. I have heard stories of both flour and yeast being scammed.

[GingerBeverage]

It's really hard admitting you've made a mistake and lost out like this but it's good to talk about it and make others more aware.
Scammers rely on people keeping quiet.

[happyjack12]

How annoying!

Have you rang the bank yet?
Have you reported it yet?

[dickiedavisthunderthighs]

It's worth speaking to your bank as that account you paid into will belong to someone, even if it's not your 'elderly gentleman'.
It's why most scammers want Western Union as it's untraceable.

[midnightstar66]

Unfortunately there is no come back for bank transfer. Always use paypal for transactions like these

[MrsSchadenfreude]

Please contact your bank - the same thing happened to my daughter. She bought a Switch from Gumtree, seller had record of selling stuff, all seemed above board. Seller stopped contacting her after he’s got her money, and she got a message from Gumtree saying it looked like she’d been the victim of a scam. She phoned her bank (HSBC) and got the money back eventually. Not sure if she got it all back, but I think most of it.

[MrsSchadenfreude]

She also paid by bank transfer.

[Shopkinsdoll]

Iv read a lot of this on fb this morning. Someone is also selling a hot tube and scanning quite a lot of people.

[whiplashy]

[JamieFraserskneewarmer]

Contact your bank and the bank you sent the money to. There is now more protection available for these Authorised Push Payment (AAP) Scams. There is a new code in place called the Contingent Reimbursement Model which has been signed up to by most of the big banks

More information can be found HERE