Nurse fleeced by web scam

Oct 6 2008 by Lynn Jolly, Paisley Daily Express

AN irate nurse who has lost hundreds of pounds worth of jewellery in an internet scam has warned shoppers to think twice about online dealing.

The woman was using popular trading website Gumtree to sell off items she didn’t want, and did the financial transactions through reputable company Paypal.

But she only realised she had been duped after posting goods worth £353 to Dubai and Canada – and can’t be reimbursed because she sent them by choice.

She posted:

la £100 nine-carat gold pendant, with a 17 carat topaz stone, to Dubai.

la £60 sterling silver, yellow citrine pendant and ring set.

la £15 Swarovski rose brooch.

la £60 set including a gent’s titanium bracelet.

la £50 nine carat sky blue topaz ring and

la £50 nine carat gold amathyst ring.

The last five items were posted to Canada and both parcels also cost her £9 each to send, making her total loss a pricy £353.

Our reader, who is embarrassed at being caught out, said: “I was selling jewellery on Gumtree and used a Paypal account because I know that is the most secure type of payment.

“Usually when someone says they want to buy something from you, you send them your Paypal name by e-mail so they can credit your account.

“These particular people sent me an e-mail – which looked like it was from paypal – bearing the firm’s logo and copyright. It was very convincing.

“It said the payment had been approved, but would not be released into my account until I sent them the postal tracking numbers for the parcels. To me, it looked like Paypal wanted the tracking number before they would credit my account.

“So I posted two of four packages. Two for Africa didn’t go because the Post Office staff told me it is illegal to post jewellery to Nigeria.”

The nurse’s parcels to Canada and Dubai were sent and she phoned Paypal to say she had the tracking numbers.

When staff at the genuine firm said they NEVER ask for that she realised the whole thing was a spoof, and was told there is a warning on their site about these rip-offs.

Our furious reader, from Erskine, added: “Now these people have my e-mail address and my home address, which was on the parcels. And I’m worried that I might fall victim to another scam because they have all that information about me.

“There was nothing for me to suspect this wasn’t a legitimate PayPal request. But it was a rip-off.

“Although this isn’t PayPal’s fault, I would warn Paisley Daily Express readers who use the system to watch out for anything unusual.

“It seems there is a global gang of people working together on this scam.”

Paypal prides itself in keeping sellers safe by allowing them to trade without revealing their address, or credit and debit card number.

They have an anti-fraud team working tirelessly to maintain online safety and also offer cover for eBay transactions.

Paypal is a leading global online payment company and has has 63 million active accounts, and has a very low loss rate due to fraud at 0.27 per cent.