Just been scammed on Gumtree - how best to proceed?

[RtdRacer]

Thetford is not miles from me - I was there yesterday. Have PMed the OP. More news to follow, I'm sure.

[mellowman]

RtdRacer said:

Thetford is not miles from me - I was there yesterday. Have PMed the OP. More news to follow, I'm sure.

Indeed, things are hotting up, and thanks again to the generous offer of assistance from RtdRacer and his contacts, I'm sure we'll be able to take this to the next most interesting phase...

[james_tigerwoods]

I wonder if this story should provide a level of inspiration....

http://mashable.com/2013/03/11/boxer-hunts-down-tw...

[RtdRacer]

james_tigerwoods said:

I wonder if this story should provide a level of inspiration....

http://mashable.com/2013/03/11/boxer-hunts-down-tw...

I'm not a boxer. I am however a powerfully built, bearded company director. :-)

[BliarOut]

james_tigerwoods said:

I wonder if this story should provide a level of inspiration....

http://mashable.com/2013/03/11/boxer-hunts-down-tw...

Priceless

[Durzel]

Fantastic

[GC8]

From Mashable:



Oddly I recognised the location from this photo (and the road name, obviously!). A friend used to live on the corner of Mount View Road and Derbyshire Lane.

Not the troll, I hasten to add.

[anonymous-user]

?

[mellowman]

The Spruce goose said:

?

All points left indeed, and definitely worth ringing his mobile number when he answers the door!

[coxy1]

Whats happening!!!!

[al bebak]

the suspense is killing me here, anything happening.

[Bonefish Blues]

AIUI the scammer has been traced to a WW2 Nazi Bunker so stop bumping the thread

[blindswelledrat]

Can someone bring me up to speed on this thread please?

[mellowman]

blindswelledrat said:

Can someone bring me up to speed on this thread please?

Certainly...

I have emailed a bundle of information to a fellow PHer, who offered to visit the suspected scammer.

However, on reflection, he then suggested he ran the information past a neighbourly plod.

I'm awaiting an update...

Don't worry, PH will be first for news :-)

[blindswelledrat]

Thanks. Interesting. SO this bloke scammed you from and actual real address did he? Is he really thick?

[james_tigerwoods]

blindswelledrat said:

Thanks. Interesting. SO this bloke scammed you from an actual real address did he? Is he really thick?

I get the impression that there were many addresses that PH tracked down the correct one from.

[whoami]

blindswelledrat said:

Thanks. Interesting. SO this bloke scammed you from and actual real address did he? Is he really thick?

No, but probably yes.

[mellowman]

An update...at last!

Just got a call from Norfolk Police, who were able to give me the latest information on their enquiries.

They said that that 10 people were scammed, and the investigation involves people and police forces across the country contributing to quite a dossier of stuff.

They said things are proceeding but will take some time, in order to gather proper evidence. I will be asked shortly to go in and prepare a written statement, including the additional information I have (where I'd linked him to the iPad scam he was also running).

They'll update me every other week on progress.

The fact that it was a call from Norfolk Police confirms we had the correct location of the scammer.

I'll update the thread again when there's more info to report. And a big thank you again to PHers who gave support and help to keep things moving.

[Durzel]

Nice update, fingers crossed for a satisfactory resolution.

[Justin Cyder]

Bookmarked.

I'm a regular user of Gumtree & I often search for rare & valuable musical instruments. A couple of things I've noticed on the scammer side of things is a) the Stornoway thing - often listed in out of the way locations presumably to discourage meets & b) scammers who are lazy enough to nick photos off Ebay etc. are often equally lazy when it comes to the description, so a copy & paste into Google often lights things up like a Christmas tree.

Good luck Mellowman, top sleuthing.