Posted 19 April 2020
Can bank transfers be reversed by a scammer?
I've advertised a high value macbook on gumtree and been contacted by a couple of potential buyers saying they would offer me asking price and are happy to pay by bank transfer if i post to nothern ireland.
The macbook is worth over £1000... is it possible they could reverse the transaction after i post?
The macbook is worth over £1000... is it possible they could reverse the transaction after i post?
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48 Comments
sorted byThese sort of scams rely on the seller getting greedy. They almost never negotiate a price, and the money will either only be transferred on the proviso that you post first or it will be sent from a compromised account (or declared as such to the bank) and the transaction will be reversed.
Don’t even think about it.
but isnt paypal risky too?
a true scammer says Nigeria
In which case your sale is no longer 'normal' but is in fact a payment from the proceeds of crime and therefore could be recovered.
I would advise extreme caution. If it smells like a scam and looks like a scam, it probably is.
And only send to the address listed on eBay if it isn’t listed on eBay send to the address on the PayPal account or you won’t be covered. Even if a buyer says oh it’s my family address can you ship to this address don’t just stick to the address that’s registered.
Exactly don’t accept PayPal unless it’s a gift from friends and family
Gumtree is a bit dodgy mate as there isn’t a review system or anything so if you’re doing it via delivery on there do it via PayPal goods and services bear in mind PayPal take roughly 3 percent off the total value as a charge for their service.
Whenever I sell things on gumtree I only do it via cash in hand.
for a high value item, you should also make sure you check the money as they can give you fake notes. although the new notes are harder to forge.
I send them my bank details and vice versa. I dont open any emails, screenshots etc. I log onto my online banking and do it that way. If they not happy with that. Tough, end if transaction.
never accept paypal for high value item. You will lose your item and your money. (edited)
Not true at all - a bank transfer can be reversed without your permission.
they didn’t even try to haggle the price, a real buyer would probably give it a go
Yeah I’m pretty sure your dealing with scammers right now. I have people say the same thing send to NI and it’s a mail forwarding address or sometimes I get asked if it can be sent to Nigeria as the nephew is studying there.
Yeah it’s a giveaway I think that’s why they are using mail forwarding addresses now.
Yeah lol go along with it and send them fake bank details
Don’t haggle and offer ridiculous postage costs
My iPhone X a while back wanted to pay £30 postage plus asking price to send it to his grandson in the Army......bloody joker
You are asking to get scammed here. I listed iPhone 7 on gumtree and everyone wanted to pay bank transfer and me to post it, I read the previous sender message again and they were nearly matching so i knew it was fishy. I said no your a scammer and guess what, no reply!!
So if they can’t reply to that message why would they reply once you send off the item?
Then once again I listed a mobile and same happens again, Gumtree is full of scammers
Last year someone turned up to give me fake £20s!!!!!
I’d never seen fake notes before but luckily I always count and try to check while counting cleverly and noticed the fake notes paper quality was absolutely poor, I dropped him off to bank which he said they were from and he never came back (edited)
Why didn’t you just destroy the notes in front of him on the doorstep instead of taking him to the bank.
I work in retail and I won’t hand back dodgy notes, I rip them up 1st !
Both hmmm probably a scammer that has multiple accounts.
Not if you do it by good and services bud. You’re protected and send everything via delivery which is signed for.
Too many people try scam out there
(You'll not hear back!)
How does that work with gumtree?
Still can be reversed if it's a hacked account. Normal paypal if its posted, cash/bank transfer on collection. A bank transfer can only be reversed with your permission.
You’d recommend normal PayPal?
They just say it didn’t arrive or it was not as described/ faulty and then get there money back
No they wouldn't, they would have to return it if not as described and a not received claim would be auto closed with tracking uploaded to ebay. I haven't been successfully scammed in 15 years of ebay trading using Paypal. I have never sold anything through Gumtree. (edited)