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Original poster

I stupidly gave my address and have been daft

160 replies

Tevion28 · 23/01/2022 02:16

I am selling something on Gumtree for £600 that any potential buyer has to collect anyway somebody messaged me on Gumtree to say its very nice and that they want it. They then gave me thier email and asked me to message them on it. I messaged saying hi and they replied saying they want it and can they have my details including address in order to pick it up and pay by PayPal.
I gave all details and I then got a message from them saying they had paid the £600 plus an additional £100 but its pending in my account and won't be available to me until I've paid an amount via Amazon to the courier to collect it. I checked my PayPal it wasn't showing anything as pending but I got a PayPal notification which I found in my spam saying I have £700 pending. I have now ignored the buyer has I think they are up to something and I've had another email saying how can I be so heartless as if I don't follow through they can't get thier £700 back. I'm getting worried as I previously gave my address. I'm so bloody stupid.

OP posts:
Chakraleaf · 23/01/2022 07:34

They won't harass you as its a scam and they didn't send money

knittingaddict · 23/01/2022 07:35

@Tevion28

Said they can't pick it up themselves as they are in a wheelchair and now I've give them nothing but regret.Hmm
It's not true. There is no one in a wheelchair feeling disappointed. It's all part of the scam. You may already know that op, but a few people on here could do with knowing that too.
NewtoHolland · 23/01/2022 07:36

@XelaM

If they have paid, you can't cancel! Why is it "pending"?
This is a very well known scam, of course you can cancel!! Are you a scammer XelaM?

Well done for trusting your gut OP. In general even of being used legitimately PayPal is great for buyers but not good for sellers especially on big ticket items as they give refunds very very easily. One of my friends sold a gaming PC for hundreds, money cleared from pay pal..buyer has PC and the money as they claimed it didn't arrive even when he has proof of delivery.

WhenTheyComeForYou · 23/01/2022 07:40

Never EVER communicate off the original site. Keep all Comms on the app so that you have proof of correspondence.

Don't worry about your address - it's totally irrelevant. You can find anyone's address these days. They won't be round knocking on your door. They only asked for it to convince you the scam was real.

Report to Gumtree and PayPal and forget all about it.

Plantagenous · 23/01/2022 07:53

I had similar with Ebay.
I bought some insulation and paid with PP. The 'seller' then ordered the insulation from a local builders merchant and had it delivered in my name paying with an international credit card.
As soon as the stuff was delivered they did a chargeback and got their money back.
Luckily the insulation had been installed the following day and was between two leaves of masonry or the builders merchant would have wanted it back.
I gave them all the documents they would need to sue. I don't know how that went.
I reported the scam to Ebay and PP but the company is still trading a year later.

SavBbunny · 23/01/2022 07:54

I had this on fleebay regarding a ring. No money ever received and poorly worded emails.

MsJaneAusten · 23/01/2022 07:56

It’s a scam. Send a final email saying you won’t be sending it to them, you are blocking them and they need to sort a refund with PayPal.

Then send the details to PayPal and the original selling site.

Porthia · 23/01/2022 07:57

I did the exact same thing OP with a very nice lady on Facebook who asked for my address so she could pick something up and then next minute was talking about couriers and me having to pay an “insurance fee” 🙄

I was worried as I also gave her my name and address but I don’t think they can do too much with that alone - I hope!! At least we both realised before paying anything.

It’s put me off bothering to sell things online - there is always so much hassle involved with chasing people, people not turning up, trying to negotiate on the doorstep and now scammers too!

gunnersgold · 23/01/2022 08:07

They are probably in tumbuktu and won't be anywhere near you . Don't worry!

Original poster
Tevion28 · 23/01/2022 08:08

Gosh so many of them about hey and there was me thinking wow I've got money its sold.

OP posts:
Original poster
Tevion28 · 23/01/2022 08:10

Yes I suspect they are far away and wouldn't dream of turning up at a person's address because they cowardly want to do it all behind a screen as they are complete crooks.

OP posts:
Namechangeforthis88 · 23/01/2022 08:12

It's bad enough when you list something cash on collection and the buyer turns out to live 400 miles away and wants you to wait in all day for the courier to collect. It's happened to me twice, but they never asked me to pay a penny.

LightBulbous · 23/01/2022 08:16

@Tevion28 this is a classic scam! Been done many times. Don’t fall for it. Report to police and stop engaging with fake buyer. Block them if you can.

Marzipano · 23/01/2022 08:17

This is a scam of course. But a lot of replies here are suggesting checking the email address that the PayPal notification comes from. That's not a good idea - it's perfectly possible to fake the sending address.

Internet email was originally invented in a more innocent time, when this sort of thing was not a consideration so there is no security or verification of the sender's address.

shedevill · 23/01/2022 08:20

I wouldn't worry too much about them having your address, they probably don't live nearby

GlassHalfFullView · 23/01/2022 08:28

They have not sent you money, the email you received is not really from PayPal, it is fake. An easy way to check is click on the sender details in the email and you will find the sender is not using an email address. An email address from PayPal should end @paypal.co.uk or @paypal.com etc. likely it looks something like @paypal.somemadeupname.com

Block the email an delete. They won’t be turning up on your doorstep

GlassHalfFullView · 23/01/2022 08:30

Ignore the *s that’s mumsnet adding those

Kuachui · 23/01/2022 08:32

this scam is the most popular scam going around. so many people fall for it

MyNameIsArthur · 23/01/2022 08:35

Tell them you've made the payment but its pending the £700 arriving in your account Grin

godmum56 · 23/01/2022 08:36

not just scam but well known scam.

Ikona · 23/01/2022 08:40

Don't worry OP, as others have said it's a scam that's been around for years.
I was selling a car a few years ago and Gumtree was one of the places I listed it. Had almost the exact same scenario as you - buyer was supposedly in a wheelchair but wanted to send money via PayPal and if they send extra to cover a collection fee, could I arrange it if they gave me contact details for the person who was collecting (no doubt them, or a friend, who would then get the money). It struck me as odd that they wanted the car (just a fairly common run of the mill car too, nothing fancy/rare) without even seeing it, so I told them they could have someone else collect it, provided that person brought cash or transferred directly to my bank account and I would hand keys over as soon as money was showing... They soon gave up.

Forrandomposts · 23/01/2022 08:46

Op what email address did the PayPal email come from?

LightBulbous · 23/01/2022 08:51

@Forrandomposts

Op what email address did the PayPal email come from?
It doesn’t matter. That can be faked. This is a well known scam.
user1471604848 · 23/01/2022 08:57

I was selling a baby sterilizer online. I got a message from Indonesia saying they'd buy it, and pay extra for the courier.
They wanted me to pay some insurance which the courier would reimburse.
Blocked!

Warszawa · 23/01/2022 08:57

I'd imagine the person is likely overseas - your address isn't what they want it's your money. I wouldn't worry just report it as a scam

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