A Wagga woman who narrowly avoided being conned out of $900 is urging residents to be careful when selling items on Gumtree.
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Ashmont resident Joe Burt almost sold a luxury Tissot watch on the online marketplace to a scammer early last week.
"It would have been awful. I've just recently lost my job due to an illness so I needed the money and I'm so glad I didn't fall for it," she said.
Ms Burt believed she had sold the watch to an overseas buyer, who used fraudulent emails to trick her into thinking the money would be transferred only after she posted the watch and lodged a tracking number.
She is a regular customer at Ashmont Post Office, whose owners warned her the transaction looked suspicious and encouraged her to contact the supposed buyer, who never replied.
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"Honestly it looked real. I was even getting false emails sent to me as well. I actually believed it. I feel silly but I'm just glad I went to that post office," Ms Burt said.
Ms Burt said she was now nervous about selling things online and believes similar scams "could happen to anyone".
"I'd just be very careful. I've now posted that people have to pick it up. I'm very nervous about sending anything anymore," she said.
"I was very sort of angry and shaken up on the day but now I'm very relieved that I didn't fall for it. I've just taken different measures to selling things and just being cautious."
Himanshu Rawal, who owns Ashmont Post Office with his wife Bhakti Rawal, urged residents to be careful when using Gumtree.
"The general message is open up, talk to someone before you make a decision [to send an item]. You don't know what the different outcome might be," Mr Rawal said.
"If you come and talk to us we might know what's going on. Because there are lots of scams going on. We're aware about it.
"We're not here to advise anyone, but at least we can alert someone for some scams."
Gumtree Head of Marketing Amanda Behre said it was important for users to remain vigilant even though more than 99 per cent of trading experiences on the platform were safe.
"We strongly recommend users to take precautions when trading online [and to] be cautious when giving out any information," she said.
"Never give out your identification or banking details unless you are 100 per cent sure that you're speaking with the real company [or] person."
Ms Behre said Gumtree used a strict report and take-down process around concerning or suspicious ads that "contravene policy guidelines".
She encouraged users to report such posts to help stamp out deceptive activity on the site.
"Any illegal or suspicious activity that occurs offline should be reported to police," she said.
"We also offer advice and support for our users to help them ensure they engage with genuine users and have a positive experience on the site."
Catie McLeod
Catie is a reporter at The Daily Advertiser covering health and Wagga City Council. You can contact her on c.mcleod@dailyadvertiser.com.au or 0475 819 651.
Catie is a reporter at The Daily Advertiser covering health and Wagga City Council. You can contact her on c.mcleod@dailyadvertiser.com.au or 0475 819 651.
