[antonjw]

Yesterday I replied to an ad that it turns out is clearly a scam. I replied to 2 others which are also scams, but who haven't (yet) tried to e-mail me to try to get money out of me (I guess it was the same person, so one e-mail would do).

Then looking through the forums, it becomes clear that scamming is a large problem on Gumtree, and to me at least, it becomes clear that having a completely open classified site is a joy for the scammers. My own level of trust in the site is being eroded by the high levels of scamming, and I think alternative, but still easy-to-use advertisement-placement and enquiry models could be put into place on Gumtree which would restore people's confidence in the site and perhaps remove or significantly reduce the scamming that is a headache to users of the site and moderators alike.

Reading the site, people have been scammed. What happens when a couple of "I was scammed on Gumtree" stories hit the mainstream media?



Here are my ideas:

1 - Everybody using Gumtree has to have a registered account
2 - Advertisers have to lodge a UK mobile phone number with Gumtree
3 - This mobile number is then validated every time an ad is placed, via a text being sent to the mobile and then either a text reply or a code included in the text, being punched back in to the Advertiser's Gumtree account - this validates both the Mobile number & each individual Advert when it is placed


The advertiser can choose whether or not Enquirers can contact them on their mobile, but the ad is properly validated and Gumtree holds the mobile number of the advertiser, thus the advertiser has a UK Mobile phone number and is traceable.



Enquiring about an advert:

1 - no contact details are immediately available until you click a 'make enquiry' button (and you have to be a registered user and logged-in to be able to click it)

2 - icons are displayed with the ad to show what the enquiry mechanism will be (which the advertiser selects as a default but can change on a per-ad basis)

i.e. - Gumtree-routed e-mail form, (advertisers') email, landline, mobile (the advertiser's validated uk number)



then, as a registered user, when you click the 'make enquiry' button, only then are advertiser's chosen contact details displayed on-screen (via a bit of AJAX scripting etc.).

this protects genuine advertisers' details from being farmed and used in other scams, and the 'genuine validated uk number' suggestion protects people responding to ads and makes advertisers traceable, and hopefully therefore far less willing to try to scam people through gumtree.



Further idea - Advert 'traffic light' safety indicator

This is as simple as showing some a single nice, big, clear icon next to the 'Make Enquiry' button, as follows:

1 - Green Light - if the advertiser has chosen to publish their validated UK Mobile phone number with their ad.

2 - Orange Light - If the best published contact method is a landline.

3 - Red Light - If the best contact method available is e-mail or the Gumtree contact form.

Perhaps a variation on this theme would be required as obviously a Red Light is 'very bad' and perhaps is a touch unkind, seeing as the advertiser has to be properly registered with validated UK Mobile no.


But this will:
1 - highlight the most credible ads that are likely to be more genuine and smoother to deal with for the enquirer
2 - encourage advertisers to give full contact details to (registered, remember) enquirers



In conclusion
Once as an enquirer or advertiser you are registered and your UK Mobile number validated, then you are pretty much using Gumtree as normal, but these steps could really help people to feel that Gumtree is doing something serious to try to protect them, that the system is designed to protect them, rather than continual firefighting of high levels of scamming, and that it is a safe site that people have confidence in using.



Perhaps such a system might initially be trialled on high-value, scam-susceptible ads such as Rentals Offered?


Issues
I think the main issue to work through would be the cost of sending out the texts, though perhaps if you make ad confirmation a text reply only (rather than the idea of coming back here to enter a confirmation code), then you get a kickback from the reply texts?


Anyway i realise this would change the gumtree model for placing ads (perhaps though it is only relevant to relatively high-value ads?), but... it seems that a change to the model is required, and if you're ensuring people's peace of mind with some reasonable but easy-to-use steps, then that's probably a very good thing, and I don't think people would mind having to be registered and having to confirm their ad and lodge a mobile phone number, at least with gumtree, in order to be able to place ads on the service.

[pajerodave]

Nice to see a well written post, makes a pleasant change from the rantings (in capital letters mostly!) of idiots often posted on here.

I fear though that it will simply fly over the heads of Gumtree.......Good ideas & advice don't seem to be acted upon!