Thread: Gumtree Scammers????????

Email preference isn't always sus.. I usually prefer it as I often can't answer my phone at work.. But the tone in that is odd and generic, so I'd say sus.



Send them a different price and see if they notice. (but your email will then be added to spam lists or worse)

Not necessarily sus.
If you are concerned, send them a reply through gumtree.

Originally Posted by flagg

Send them a different price and see if they notice. (but your email will then be added to spam lists or worse)

Yea Flagg
Our thoughts exactly which is why we only put phone contact in the ad.
We've never used online sites before (except for Inc) so we're a bit cautious.
Thanks for the input
Steve

I Had a similar experience when trying to sell a treadmill. I received a request about how much my treadmill was & if it was still avail and to contact via email only. I responded and was then asked for my bank account details so they could buy it. I thought this was very strange & did a bit of research. Also had someone with a very strong accent call me wanting to buy it for his daughter as she was very fat! The number was private so I found that one sus too and just said I was waiting for someone to come look at it but if he gave me his number I could call him back and he hung up. Gumtree has a fairly big help/FAQ section on scams etc and from memory I found something about people only wanting contact via email. I have had great success with gumtree on some things, but when advertising bigger priced items I've received the very dodgy emails and ended up selling via other means. The arseholes unfortunately ruin it for the genuine people! Maybe just say you only contact via phone in the listing and then ask for peoples number to confirm genuine enquiries. Cheers, Kerry.

If they want the item, then they contact you via phone when convenient for you. Even a text will do. Don't contact any email addresses (unless you want a torrent of spam in the future), deny any request to ship overseas, no Western Union bank accounts, and make the sale face-to-face. No forwarding of money for any reason.

If you've had no other enquiries but these i'd suggest it's a scam - they seem to bite within the first 24-hours of ad placement. Same thing happened to my parents when they first joined Gumtree. But get a few sales under your belt and the overseas scammers will fade into the woodwork.

I also have a camper on Gumtree and others. I regard those text messages in my case as scams, they typically only ask those 2 questions, and as for the price, it's on the ad. If they were genuine they would be in phone contact with a lot more questions and introduce themselves. You would feel from the type of questions if they were genuine. Oh and they usually have Gmail/yahoo or other generic email addresses and ask that contact is only by email.

I ignore them.

having sold numerous cars on gumtree, sounding like a scam mate.
does the number they are contacting you from come up with an aussie ares code even (+61 for aus).
some of the text (sounding identical to yours) werent even coming from australia. also if there is no number and its just a name, its generally a scam too.


if they are serious, they will call you mate.

Some are suspect some not. I will not sell overseas and on most items will state pick up only. On the odd occasion when speaking direct to someone I will allow direct deposit, but only gets posted after payment has cleared.
I have had requests to deliver to freight companies etc, not a chance unless paid in full first.