Fallen for a scam?

[MagnaJeep]

I am kicking myself now for being so foolish, as I know way better and would
never do such a stupid thing.

Before I give more details, I have made contact to the seller of this
https://edinburgh.craigslist.co.uk/ptd/5778869939....

Seemed to be genuine and gave me an uk bank account (yes you don't transfer money in advance, I wanted to collect it and got an address for collection, so thougth that it might as well be delivered), now I notice that everything on craigslist uk is pure scam.

Are there any options to try and recover any losses or do I have to chalk it up as an extremely expensive lesson?

I have said bank details, but doubt that this will make much difference. Is there some kind of fraud service in scotland? I am London based.

[CoolHands]

Report to http://www.actionfraud.police.uk if it is a scam. You will have lost your money though, having the bank account details does no good, it won't get returned or track down the thief.

[All that jazz]

I guess you didn't bother to click on any of the numerous "read this to avoid being scammed" links emblazened over every page then?

Such as https://www.craigslist.org/about/scams?lang=en&amp...

No sympathy I'm afraid and your money is gone. Police won't care. Move on.

[sidekickdmr]

MagnaJeep said:

I am kicking myself now for being so foolish, as I know way better and would
never do such a stupid thing.

Before I give more details, I have made contact to the seller of this
https://edinburgh.craigslist.co.uk/ptd/5778869939....

Seemed to be genuine and gave me an uk bank account (yes you don't transfer money in advance, I wanted to collect it and got an address for collection, so thougth that it might as well be delivered), now I notice that everything on craigslist uk is pure scam.

Are there any options to try and recover any losses or do I have to chalk it up as an extremely expensive lesson?

I have said bank details, but doubt that this will make much difference. Is there some kind of fraud service in scotland? I am London based.

you have not actually said if you have actually been scammed yet, you say you paid him and you have an address for collection.....

Has he stopped responding for a few days?

Has it not turned up when it should have?

Or are you just working yourself up and assuming the worst?

Not everyone is out to scam you and there is a *small* chance its a genuine ad!

[essayer]

My HSBC bank account recently had an update to the T&Cs allowing them to recover incoming bank transfers if there was reasonable suspicion of error or fraud - not sure whether this is now common across the industry but maybe your bank will be able to start some form of recovery process?

[General Fluff]

All that jazz said:

No sympathy I'm afraid and your money is gone. Police won't care. Move on.

I know personally of a recent similar case where the perpetrator was caught, prosecuted and money returned to victims, all started off by reporting to Action Fraud. In this case the victims were able to identify the perpetrator and people who knew him. The police did the rest.

So OP, do whatever you can to find out who did this, but definitely report to Action Fraud regardless. Your chances may be slim but it's worth a shot.

[CAPP0]

sidekickdmr said:

you have not actually said if you have actually been scammed yet, you say you paid him and you have an address for collection.....

Has he stopped responding for a few days?

Has it not turned up when it should have?

Or are you just working yourself up and assuming the worst?

Not everyone is out to scam you and there is a *small* chance its a genuine ad!

It's an unusual item to pick to use as a scam, with a very limited market over here. There's also a lot of detail for a scam. Of course, it still could be, but how far down the line are you, OP?

[Bigyoke]

General Fluff said:

I know personally of a recent similar case where the perpetrator was caught, prosecuted and money returned to victims, all started off by reporting to Action Fraud. In this case the victims were able to identify the perpetrator and people who knew him. The police did the rest.

So OP, do whatever you can to find out who did this, but definitely report to Action Fraud regardless. Your chances may be slim but it's worth a shot.

^^^^^
This. There may not be much that can be done but if it's not even reported there's zero chance.

[C70R]

Let me guess, did it seem "too good to be true"?
Report it to the Police, by all means. But I wouldn't hold your breath about getting it recovered. Please buy from a reputable dealer in future.

[evilkinevil1981]

regular user of ebay and gumtree and have bought the odd things off the local facebay group, but craigslist just screams out scam to me.

the stuff that is advertised just looks too good to be true, certainly the stuff I have looked at.

I would only meet the seller in person/actually see the item if I was going to purchase something rather than bank transfer.

Slightly off topic, sorry, but has anyone actually bought anything off craigslist?

[MagnaJeep]

Don't mind the negative comments, but it did seem to be rather genuine with
an address provided, pictures that don't seem to be used elsewhere and I don't
think that the price was such a huge bargain, it certainly isn't one now.

I have bought many bikes in the UK unseen and paid fully in advance, no problem whatsoever.

Back on track:
I paid most of the price asked to a NatWest account, assuming that there must be
some proof of identity given to open an account.

To help others avoid the same stupidity, I will fill out the forms and contact
the fraud unit. My own bank has been contacted, but they claim that only if the receiver
is consent with refunding they will get anything back, so that's a no.

To answer one of the questions, contact has been ignored for two weeks, after a claim that it
is on it's way.

[herewego]

There's a little advice here:

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-...