[jspjaguar]

I have noticed in recent weeks the increase of fruadulant sellers trying their luck on Gumtree. It is clearly visible as they have no idea what they are talking about, ad's are copied and paste on to site from ebay, highend bikes are advertised at stupid cheap prices to attract the unsuspecting buyer. What is being done to up the security and safety of users on Gumtree? Better yet what is being done to the people posting the ad's?
Concerned user...

[kerrymann021]

do you mean adverts for Trek Equinox bikes? the ads have been removed for some reason but def very suspicious. is this type of scam common??

[montyzuma]

Hi Guys, Its a problem with all free advertising sights and even some who are not free.

It ranges form phones to hifi, cars to computers. flat rental what ever someone would like to buy.

The warning signs are

Its a bargain
The seller is not in this country

and the biggy

they want paid by western union or moneygram because they are untraceable.

you can even send west-u money to your parent but if you give someone the 10 digit mctn (identification ) number the crook can pick up the money antwhere in the world.

[reculver]

had couple yesterday and today ,segway for £300 ,merlin titanium for silly money and in bournemouth posted as in LONDON ,pinarello prince yesterday was supposedly in th isle of man ,these nigerians sure move around a lot and they use EBAY/gumtree trust and safe ,escrow ,WU and moneygram believe it or not, best thing about these scamming nigerians is their ADVERTS stand out like a sore THUMB but they are trickier than a internet cafe full of baboons

[reculver]

just report them as fraudulent like i do and gumtree admin do a great job of getting rid of them ,ive also got a blank WU receipt slip,so i just invent a name and address fill it in and send it to them complete with fake MONEY TRANSFER CONTROL NUMBER ,now that really fucks them off lol

[montyzuma]

i have a scam of a jobbie labelled west -union , i send them it after asking all sorts of question does the phone/computer have the latest dilithium crystals added etc and get them to send you an invoice.

you usually get acalled a scammer yourself fab

[z.winston]

[quote="jspjaguar"]I have noticed in recent weeks the increase of fruadulant sellers trying their luck on Gumtree. It is clearly visible as they have no idea what they are talking about, ad's are copied and paste on to site from ebay, highend bikes are advertised at stupid cheap prices to attract the unsuspecting buyer. What is being done to up the security and safety of users on Gumtree? Better yet what is being done to the people posting the ad's?
Concerned user...[/quote]

I dont agree with the comments about cutting and pasting. Many people use this way of describing an item.

My bicycle is listed on Gumtree exactly as described on the Halfords site - considering i purchased this bicycle from Halfords - what is wrong with me cutting and pasting the description?

Would potential purchaseres prefer a simple "ladies bicycle, as new, 17inch " instead of exact specifiations?

I think buyer beware needs to be exercised here - if you are purchasing a bicycle demand a detailed photo and compare (on the web) the photo to the description the seller has placed. This would be a good indication of whether the seller is full of it or not.

[reculver]

winston we are not talkin about run of the mill bikes here,the really dodgy bikes are so underpriced you automatically know the ads are fraudulent,if you know what you are looking for, the ads have owner taken pictures and descriptions taken direct from ebay or cycling weekly,they say there in LONDON and then say OH ive just gone to spain on a business trip and the bike is in EBAY CUSTODY or some other bullshit and we can use ebay trust and safe most involve WU or moneygram .every week some MUGU in a internet cafe spends his pocket money on these adverts