[stationmaster]

Hi all.I'm new to the forums here, but I am a regular user of Gumtree.com. I'm currently looking for work, and I am amazed at the increase of dodgy 'recruiters' in the Driving/Warehouse jobs section. I fell for it (once ) as far as to say I replied to ONE ad, and received SEVERAL emails from different email addresses on the strength of replying to just one ad on Gumtree! Alarm bells rang early for me, luckily. I Just wanted to post a few tips, stuff that I have come across, making me increasingly aware that these people are here, and they are after our personal details for their own intent. Hopefully my experience, shared below, will prevent this from continuing for much longer..

TIPS ON HOW TO SPOT A POTENTIAL SCAMMER IN THE JOB SECTION:
( Based on personal experience )

1. The ad is usually written in bad grammar
2. Very rarely do they leave contact details, you have to reply via the online form
3. Monthly salary varies from £2000 - £2500 ( designed to lure you in! )
4. A lot of ads begin with ' A good driver needed '

AND HERE COMES THE GIVEAWAY:

5. Details are sketchy in the original ad, but if you reply with a short note via the online form ( NEVER SEND OR ATTACH A CV ) the scammer WILL reply to you via email ( look out for aaronbeadle@yahoo.co.uk he is particularly nasty, as is a Mr John Spink ) - You will be told a tale of how an elderly relative is coming to London & needs to be ferried around for 2-3 hours a day, 3 times a week, theatres/cinema/shopping in the West End etc you will be asked to give your details inc bank account/NI number/Passport number/Postal address/vehicle make + model + registration number ( If you own your own vehicle, as I do ). You will be informed that you will receive a sum of money, by BACS transfer or even a personal cheque from somebody in Scotland - Over and above whatever the original deal was offering, this is to cover 'expenses/petrol/parking etc, the remainder of which is to be given back to the elderly relative at the end of the trip. THIS IS MOST DEFINITELY A BIG FAT ( NOT VERY GOOD ) SCAM!

One more thing: The email will be signed off, and end something like ' God bless you, friend ' or ' Many regards of the day to you, friend '..

All that said, I think it's obvious where this one is going. Needless to say, if you do reply to one of these dodgy ads, and you go through with the deal, you will have your identity cloned in some way and you will end up losing considerably more than you ever thought possible. These people are ruthless, and they are paying particualr attention to job seekers at this time of year. Christmas is just around the corner, and people are desperate for extra cash for the festive period. Whatever you do, do your best to avoid getting scammed by these people...

I would be very interested to hear of similar experiences, and of course it goes without saying, if in doubt, report it to Gumtree.

[stationmaster]

http://www.gumtree.com/london/02/47524902.html

[Gum Gooner]

http://forums.gumtree.com/viewtopic.php?t=379040

[stationmaster]

Here comes another one...


http://www.gumtree.com/london/75/48668475.html