A Dunedin woman scammed out of $2000 when attempting to sell a phone is warning others about the dangers of online marketplaces.<\/p>\n
Rachel Barclay said in April last year, she attempted to sell her brand-new smartphone on Facebook Marketplace, only for the whole process to go horribly wrong.<\/p>\n
“The gentleman responded with a message through Messenger.<\/p>\n
“He basically said to me that he had someone interested in my phone. Could they text me about it? And I was like, \u2018yes, that\u2019s fine\u2019.”<\/p>\n
She provided the potential buyer the contact details, only to later discover it was actually the original person.<\/p>\n
“He gave me a full story about how he was going to Christchurch the next day, how he wanted to get the sale through because he\u2019d just broken his phone.<\/p>\n
“My gut instinct probably said no, but I did go ahead with it.”<\/p>\n
Ms Barclay was then provided with what she later discovered was a fake bank statement.<\/p>\n
“Because it looked legit, I handed the phone over and there was no payment ever made.”<\/p>\n
She has since searched for the alleged scammer and said police told her he had been involved in multiple similar incidents.<\/p>\n
The experience had taught her a lot of lessons.<\/p>\n
“I want to get people to understand that using Marketplace has just about become a thing of the past.<\/p>\n
“I think that where you\u2019re meeting up is really important because this guy walked into my home and I felt really invaded.”<\/p>\n
This experience convinced her in future to always bring someone along with her when making large transactions with private individuals.<\/p>\n
“That way, you have a witness with you.”<\/p>\n
She also felt that asking the prospective buyer for the money in cash in person could be useful.<\/p>\n
“I think that more people need to be reporting. I have heard a few cases where they go, \u2018oh, well, my loss, I\u2019ll just walk away\u2019.<\/p>\n
“Well, no, if someone ripped you off and not followed the rules of buying and selling, then report them.”<\/p>\n
Police have confirmed that a 28-year-old man, now based in Timaru, will appear in the Timaru District Court on January 29 facing several charges of deception.<\/p>\n
A police spokeswoman said there were precautions people could take to protect themselves when selling or buying items on social media.<\/p>\n
These included insisting on meeting to conduct transactions and examining the item before completing the transaction.<\/p>\n
“Meet in a public place, and take a friend. Don\u2019t go into someone\u2019s house or allow them into yours.<\/p>\n
“Do not hand over goods until you have seen funds clear into your account; do not rely on being sent a screenshot as proof of payment, as these can be faked.”<\/p>\n