Just been scammed on Gumtree - how best to proceed?
Discussion
Snowboy said:
The bank account will probably be under a fake name.
I don't know the details, but I assume it's not that hard to get a dodgy bank account.
I expect you can do it all online.
Is this true? I thought that Banks had made this way too difficult now with their cross-checks? Even for Companies!I don't know the details, but I assume it's not that hard to get a dodgy bank account.
I expect you can do it all online.
3Dee said:
Snowboy said:
The bank account will probably be under a fake name.
I don't know the details, but I assume it's not that hard to get a dodgy bank account.
I expect you can do it all online.
Is this true? I thought that Banks had made this way too difficult now with their cross-checks? Even for Companies!I don't know the details, but I assume it's not that hard to get a dodgy bank account.
I expect you can do it all online.
Just a guess that if I went into a bank with a few bills for rented accomodation and a fake Polish driving licence I could get an account.
And a second guess that a bit of googling would find me a way of doing a similar thing online on the UK branch of the bank of Nigeria.
Benrad said:
Pretty difficult to set up a fake bank account. However the transfer itself wasn't fraudulent so I doubt they'd be able to reverse it? You gave the bank and instruction and they did what you asked. Could be wrong though, don't ask don't get, have a chat at the bank
Nail on head, I authorised the transfer of funds so that isn't itself fraudulent, only the non-delivery of goods to me.I'm happy to approach directly, but nobody wants to give me information - hence why so many online scams succeed as they fail at the first hurdle of getting to the fraudster.
I have a trail of correspondence, an email address, mobile no., account details and just want some banking or law enforcement agency to do something about it, or at least stop him from defrauding others. He should be blacklisted, or at least have his bank account suspended. He is still selling stuff on Gumtree and others may be affected too.
I really doubt that either your bank or his bank will do anything at all.
I once made a payment to the wrong account, It was one I had used before and simply transferred it by mistake.
The receiving bank would give no details at all, the only way I managed to get my money back was by corresponding with the company which I had transfered the money to. My bank could do nothing.
You need to start a claim against him once you have his address.
It could be that this is his source of income , just by conning a lot of people out of small amounts. For most people its just not worth the hassle.
However I think that if enough people complain then the amount involved should be enough for the police to take an interest.
I once made a payment to the wrong account, It was one I had used before and simply transferred it by mistake.
The receiving bank would give no details at all, the only way I managed to get my money back was by corresponding with the company which I had transfered the money to. My bank could do nothing.
You need to start a claim against him once you have his address.
It could be that this is his source of income , just by conning a lot of people out of small amounts. For most people its just not worth the hassle.
However I think that if enough people complain then the amount involved should be enough for the police to take an interest.
Throw the email address into google - does it link to a facebook account?
It might be worth (purely for badness) trying to contact NatWest and suggesting that the account is being used for illegal activities - see what they will do. Possibly nothing for you - but they might consider closing it.
There's lots of people here who *might* be able to throw a mobile number into a database and tell you what county it is registered in.
It might be worth (purely for badness) trying to contact NatWest and suggesting that the account is being used for illegal activities - see what they will do. Possibly nothing for you - but they might consider closing it.
There's lots of people here who *might* be able to throw a mobile number into a database and tell you what county it is registered in.
tigger1 said:
Throw the email address into google - does it link to a facebook account?
It might be worth (purely for badness) trying to contact NatWest and suggesting that the account is being used for illegal activities - see what they will do. Possibly nothing for you - but they might consider closing it.
There's lots of people here who *might* be able to throw a mobile number into a database and tell you what county it is registered in.
I'm happy to provide details off-forum if anyone wants to assist...It might be worth (purely for badness) trying to contact NatWest and suggesting that the account is being used for illegal activities - see what they will do. Possibly nothing for you - but they might consider closing it.
There's lots of people here who *might* be able to throw a mobile number into a database and tell you what county it is registered in.
Interesting development. I replied to another Gumtree ad containing his mobile number, for an iPad, and he's said collection is preferable and given me an address - in the Western isles! I said I was nearby in Ullapool and could catch the ferry over. I wonder how he'll get out of that one? It's definitely the same guy as his mannerisms and formatting are identical.
I don't suppose we have any Stornaway members that might be able to shed some light on this? Feel free to contact me off-forum.
Purity14 said:
I like these types of games..
Have messaged you with the details.I think he knows the game's up and must be ready to run, because he's just sent me this charming reply to my last email stating the tracking number is a fake:
"Scammer.co.uk/trackmyparcel is what I did it with cheers"
Got to get the little $h!* now...
cptsideways said:
can you not trace a bank account branch via the sort code? then contact the branch. I'm pretty sure any bank manager would take fraud seriously.
Nationwide Flex account sort codes don't reveal the branch, just the registered office details. I tried to get my bank, LloydsTSB, to initiate an investigation, but because I willingly authorised the transfer there's nothing they can do apparently...and they will only reveal account details if asked by the police etc.cptsideways said:
can you not trace a bank account branch via the sort code? then contact the branch. I'm pretty sure any bank manager would take fraud seriously.
The bank aren't going to give out a customer's details to anyone but the police, whatever you accuse him of. The sort code could give you a clue, at worst it will tell you where he opened his account, even if he's moved since (unless it's an online style bank).Your best hope is to go PI (DIY if you have the nous), and try and coax details out of him by pretending to be an interested buyer in his other items. Also bear in mind that you're probably not the only one (by the sounds of his advertising history), if you could find a way to contact the other victims, they might have pieces of the puzzle as to his identity. Don't expect too much help from the police, unless all the victims are reporting to the same force they probably won't get linked.
Goodluck, it probably won't be cost effective to try and get your money back, but if it's a matter of principle (and I would do the same)...
mjb1 said:
Goodluck, it probably won't be cost effective to try and get your money back, but if it's a matter of principle (and I would do the same)...
Well, I just posed as a new punter for the iPad, and believe I spoke to the scammer. He sounded a right chav. He did "confirm" his location as Stornaway, but said he would text me back his address so I didn't get it wrong. No reply yet, but will perhaps remind him if more than an hour elapses. He didn't sound a local that's for sure.I have been trying name and address combination on 192.com to see whether there's some truth in the details - perhaps he's used a relative's or friend's account.
I have details of a bank account used for fraudulent purposes, so I'm hoping that I can interest the police (somewhere) in digging further and leading me to his real identity - I'm quite prepared to do the legwork from there.
Purity14 said:
Eldest Child's Nickname is his security question 1/2.
This could give us an age of the person, or some more info to obtain..
(don't enter any guesses as he will be onto you!)
God this is a hard one!
Don't worry, didn't try any guesses, although his earlier ads suggested he had an older daughter just gone to college, and he said his wife was called Sandra.This could give us an age of the person, or some more info to obtain..
(don't enter any guesses as he will be onto you!)
God this is a hard one!
OP: his 'scammer.co.uk' tracking number joke/confession will be enough to force the police to act. Id suggest making it plain that inaction on the officers part will lead to an immediate formal complaint and that they dont get to choose what to bother with and what to ignore. Harsh but unfortunately required sometimes.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff