[twiggy]

If you are using Gumtree to buy or sell then here are our top tips for staying safe:

o When buying or selling, you should meet in-person to see the item and exchange money. The purpose of the Gumtree “For Sale” categories is to encourage face-to-face, local, trading. For personal ease and safety, always ensure you take someone with you. If you're answering a home service ad, ask the poster to produce identity and proof of qualification before inviting them into your home.

o Never send your item before receiving the money

o Never send or wire money to sellers or buyers. This includes never mailing a cheque or using payment services like Bidpay, Western Union or Money Gram to pay for items found on Gumtree. It is our belief that these forms of funds transfer are favoured by fraudsters.

o Gumtree doesn’t offer any sort of buyer protection/ payment programs. Any emails that talk about such systems are scams, even if they may have the Gumtree logo. If you receive any emails promoting these services, please report it to us.

o Please also take special care when buying expensive items like mobile phones, laptops, plasma TVs, airline tickets, cars, bikes and even tickets for shows/gigs. When buying airline tickets we suggest you take the seller's name and ticket number, check the ticket exists and take responsibility yourself for changing the names. For bikes ask the seller for the security serial number - check this with the police who will alert you whether the bike has been stolen.

o Never provide your personal or banking information (e.g. credit card number) to others over the Internet.

o Make yourself aware of common scams and fraud - see:
http://forums.gumtree.com/about39.html

Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your help in any task.

o Report any illegal/ suspicious ads to us using the 'Report this ad for Gumtree admin review' link. In case of fraud or illegal activity (stolen goods), we also recommend that you report it to the Police.

o Use your common sense. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[victor 10]

l live in Scotland and want to buy from London. If l send the money as l have been asked to to Gumtree they will forward it when l have recieved the item. Is this dodgy. Or is this what Gumtree do???? Help before l part with £999

[Roo-man]

HI Victor 10.
This is dodgy. Gumtree never acts as a 3rd party in any transactions, so if this person is saying that Gumtree will hold the money, they are trying to defraud you. Do not send this money under any circumstances.
Contact us with their details and we will do our best to stop them operating on Gumtree.

[tv77]

I have just had someone do the same thing to me and have already given my postal address for shipping - what do I do now - I have the listing number and her email address, can I report this to you as I have email Gumtree-Protection@london.com and requested that they verify this is not a scam and they replied:

Dear Customer,

We dont give any protection to the seller who accept for payment WesternUnion or Money Gram. Our company will give protection to the seller or buyer who accept for payment only Bank Transfer.

Rest Regards

their spelling is shocking and I am assuming you guys would check your spelling....

Have I gone too far by giving out my postal address and telephone number?

I have not paid the money as they gave me an account in Italy which made me suspicious?

[Bluey]

Report the Ad to Gumtree admin so they can take down the listing.

http://www.gumtree.com/help/stay_safe#item85

They will give you advice on how to deal with it. Simply ignore the scammer in the meantime and don't send any money.

[vbleck]

i'm selling for £10.

[Auctions-United.com]

The easiest way to stay safe

I don't mean to sound big headed in any way but I have bought and sold for 5 years and never been conned yet (only by an auction site funny enough)

I am no super brain I just use common sense, when someone offers me something for nothing I say no thanks and when they offer more than what I want, I say no thanks, it's not rocket science.....

[dealgiant.co.uk]

I think the awareness level of an average user is much higher than before, good business practice and honest dealing goes a long way, the biggest example is right before your eyes "GUMTREE"

[dealgiant.co.uk]

As a reviewer and shopping adviser I can give you a quick list of things to keep in mind while shopping online.

It does not apply specifically to this site but shopping considerations to be made in general or more specifically "internet shopping"

Reviews

Do check reviews and opinions gathered about the seller, either by tracking seller's history or by looking at comments made by other people.

Item Details

In a lot of cases some minor details in product descriptions go un-noticed and causes a lot of distress upon receiving the actuall goods, its always a good practice to pay your absolute attention to the minor details and descriptions

Ask Questions

Its never a good idea to rush and make an impulse purchase, getting replies from sellers increases trust and reduces confusion.

Terms and Conditions
Look for payment and delivery terms, duration goods will be shipped etc

Contact

Its always preferable to find sellers that you can have a word with specially when the good are of a high value.

I hope these tips provide some basic help for novice buyers

good day!

[uroy71]

Do not just send anything to anyone without money no matter what they say.Have no sympathy and trust but trust the money you receive then send the goods.

[eso]

Just be sensible and question every purchase. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

_______________________
www.trafficmonkey.co.uk

[vitaliok]

[apextickets]

[vitaliok]

You're very wrong!


So what if you wire money to bank account?



If I send funds using credit card via PayPal, I can fil out a claim or even go to bank and request CHAREGEBACK!


And in this case, the things doesn't matter, the bank reverse authorization and seller will become authomatically in negative ballance.

Once the receiver of funds gets in negative ballance, paypal transmits the debtor data to debt collection agency.

[max115]

[Oyinbo]

HI ALL, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GET SCAMMED THEN LISTEN UP!!

I HAVE BEEN MARRIED TO AN NIGERIAN LADY FOR A LONG TIME AND
I KNOW ALL THE TRICKS,SO MUCH SO THAT I'LL TELL YOU HOW THEY DO
IT. THEY WORK ON THE PREMISE THAT ALL OYINBO'S (WHITES) AND
DUDU'S (BLACKS) AND MOSTLY EVERYBODY ELSE IS GREEDY. THEY WILL
OFFER SOMETHING BEYOND BELEIF,LIKE LOOKING A GIFT HORSE IN THE
MOUTH. I HAVE SEEN THESE PEOPLE AT WORK IN NIGERIA GHANA
HOLLAND FRANCE SOUTH AFRICA AND THE UK. THEY WILL SCAM THEIR
FAMILY MEMBERS SONS DAUGHTERS FATHERS MOTHERS AND ANYBODY
ELSE. NOT ALL NIGERIAN'S OR AFRICAN'S ARE LIKE THIS.

DON'T YOU REMEMBER THE OLD BLOKE IN NOTTINGHAM WHO LOST
110,000 POUNDS? OR THEN THEIR WAS THE AMERICAN LADY WHO WAS
SCAMMED OUT OF $250,000!! THEY WILL INCLUDE THEIR WHOLE FAMILY
TO PERPETRATE A SCAM. SO IF YOU WANT TO STAY SAFE EVEN FOR A
PAIR OF RUGBY TICKETS,OR HAIR STRAIGHTENERS,CAR, MOBILE OR
ANYTHING EVEN YOUR DETAILS. KEEP THIS LINK BELOW AND CHECK
IT OUT. IT COULD SAVE YOU FROM BEING SCAMMED,DUPED OR 419d
you would not believe me about the number of scams out there.


http://www.fraudwatchers.org/forums/

[a_Bigdaddy]

Check out the website of the reply you get in these huge lists of Chinese scams:
http://www.firetrust.com/en/blog/chris/confucius-says-the-cautious-seldom-err

[CONNECT]

I agree with the post which states that Paypal is a safe option, especially if it is mail order, or an advert from someone who lives a distance away.

If you do not get the goods just click on the button on paypal, and they will investigate.

Good Luck and Safe Trading