Posted 18 February 2022
Advice on facebook marketplace scam
Hi, im new to these forums im hoping to find some help here!
i made a purchase on facebook marketplace and the item never arrived. paid via bank transfer which ive now learnt was a very stupid move and i was far too trusting... anyway i have the full chat transcript of the agreed sale, bank details, facebook, instagram, name, date of birth and approximate location of the scammer. Just wondering if based on these details is it possible to find an address somehow so i can take them to small claims court or alternatively does anyone have any experience in this area and know of any better options ( /can i legally turn up at their door haha ).
many thanks!
i made a purchase on facebook marketplace and the item never arrived. paid via bank transfer which ive now learnt was a very stupid move and i was far too trusting... anyway i have the full chat transcript of the agreed sale, bank details, facebook, instagram, name, date of birth and approximate location of the scammer. Just wondering if based on these details is it possible to find an address somehow so i can take them to small claims court or alternatively does anyone have any experience in this area and know of any better options ( /can i legally turn up at their door haha ).
many thanks!
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30 Comments
sorted byIf you do then that shows a crime vs a deal that has gone south and you may get police interested (albeit that would still require some effort).
With police interested then they would be able to trace where the money went and charge. Once charged (even if they do not take further) it would give you a crime number and person with address to pursue via small claims.
Lots of if's there and even small claims you could be throwing good money after bad (i.e scroat then disappears)
Now there is a way you can scam the scammer, Teach them a lesson and gift to good causes.
You have their bank details so set a few direct debits up with various charities etc.. £1 a month. They may never notice and if they do then it'll cause them a minor inconvenience etc.. Doesn't matter if it's the correct name/address and if they require an email then make one up.
Don't wait and report it NOW to get your money back. It will be easier if the account you transferred the money to is a verified account, the banks have a mutual understanding where they can reverse the transaction immediately if suspecting fraud.
I was slightly ashamed of myself for falling into such a scam
Maybe not strictly authorised push payment fraud, but Monzo appears to have chosen not to signup to the APP code, for undisclosed reason, so presumably it CBAd to assist protecting its customers.
Epic marketing fail for an allegedly credible bank.
Standard template to kick off at a bank that allowed you to become a victim (which is a kinda weird concept of no personal liability)
which.co.uk/con…XO5
More general ramble and observation at which.co.uk/con…9rc
If you had not already contacted your bank you could have started with you paid for a service that was not delivered as agreed, they could have then possibly try to recover it. You can still try to raise it as a fraud case with them and see if they are more willing to help. Upload all the evidence and see what happens.
Back at the start of the whole covid mess I managed to log a case with Natwest regarding a holiday payment that the company was not making any move towards refunding. They actually looked into it, as the businesses bank manager asked them regarding the payment etc. The Travel agent asked me to email the bank to tell them it was not a fraudulent transfer so that they could proceed with my refund as apparently the bank put a hold on their account. Not sure how true this was as it still took a lot of back and fro before they paid me back anything. In the end they only refunded me fully after I threatened them with small claims court.
Have you logged a case with the police? If you have their real address maybe the police can assist, after all this is fraud.
This is where the big name banks like Barclays, Nationwide come in handy during such times as their customer service is superb. I would suggest opening an account with one of them and use that to pay for FB marketplace items.
hi, yeah i did it is a legit account been in use for several years since 2011 ish and pretty active. they sent videos of the product and some proof of postage prepayment etc, like i say in hindsight not enough but ya live and you learn !
but as i said its not a burner account and his facebook and instagram are both very active
Indeed. My banks (Halifax, Starling) ask me a million questions on the reasons for the transfer, if I know the person, did I meet him / her, is this some guaranteed investment or online purchase, etc. It is impossible to add a new payee these days without jumping through these hoops. On one hand, it is annoying but on the other, if people still want to hand over their money to a stranger, there are times when I feel they will only learn after losing it. Right now, the cost of this stupidity is being borne by the banks and in turn, their customers / shareholders.
I used my Monzo bank for the transfer. I got in touch with them immediately and they seemed reluctant at first to give me the help you described. I have kept on at them and its been escalated to a complaint so just waiting to hear back from them. Yeah I also feel stupid now, been buying on fleamarkets for years though and never had issues so guess i have been previously lucky. Thanks though ill keep at them.
Do you have strong reason to believe that the information you have collected on the scammer is accurate? Turning up at their house is a terrible plan, if they don't mind scamming you, you don't know what else they don't mind doing.
Or the posting dates of their history.
Normally all their history was posted in the last couple of days.
Everything else the OP mentioned can be faked apart from the sort code & account number
I click there picture and it says how long they been on Facebook for. I never buy from someone whos only been on since 2022.
yeah i am sure all info i have is accurate, in a strange scenrio ive been in contact with someone who knows them on facebook and has confirmed details.. although theyre not a close friend etc so didnt have access to his address
hahaha thank you sir
lol. He needs a Furio.
Man I absolutely loved The Sopranos. Thanks for the throwback.
rule number 1: NEVER PAY VIA BANK TRANSFER. Cash on collection only on facebook for me personally. Also don’t buy items from people who aren’t in your area I.e somewhere you can’t / don’t want to drive to collect or they have to “post” the item.
less issues. EBay is crap also. So many scammers about but rule number one no bank transfer. Your bank may say you did it knowing what you were doing.
or so what Tony soprano would do:
youtu.be/fNU…NLk (edited)
haha thanks bud yeah learnt the hard way this time i guess.. im trying to pin down the address getting pretty close now! times like this i wish i knew someone who works in tracing
sorry yeah i meant to mention the seller is now unresponsive !
Update.. I have found the persons address. not close by to me but ill be i the area in a few weeks... when you say "unless you know where they live" any advice on best course of action? otherwise I better start getting into character (edited)
I found his address using information available online and government databases online.
Thanks, I’m in the process of going back and forth with my bank now although I’ve read Monzo are less helpful than some bigger name banks. I have logged as a crime and have been in contact with police in his area. I am travelling that way in a couple of weeks and was advised an on duty officer may attend address with me, not sure they can necessarily do anything as it’s more in the hands of the courts but they can oversee the encounter so hopefully their presence is suf