Gumtree Seller - Fraudulently representing BNA

[AUbicycles]

I received an unusual email today from a person selling a bike on gumtree as to why I had a problem with their ad. Initially I thought it was a forum member question but then saw a copy of the email and it is fraudulent activity.

Subject: A reply to your ad AD DETAILS REMOVED"
Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 16:54:49 +1000

From: replier.1024019879.YT9G6@users.gumtree.com.au


Someone has replied to your ad!

A Gumtree user has an inquiry about your classified ad AD DETAILS REMOVED.
Message:
info@bicycles.net.au

Please be warned, we can not tolerate this, you are competing with the bikes that me and my mates are selling, Don't ever bother to make it look better than our bikes, take it down, or I will make more test accounts in my forum to ask members to reports, gumtree will get so many reports and your ad will be taken down anyway, it's your choice, we believe in choices.

Christopher
Bicycle Network Australia

info@bicycles.net.au

To reply to this message please use the Reply Button of your email client
If your ad is no longer available, please delete the ad now.
Please report any suspicious email to us, never send or wire money, meet in person and always follow our safety tips.
The Gumtree Team
If you have any questions, please look at our Help Pages or contact our Community Support Team.

This email was not by me - rather it was from a scammer who was purchasing bikes from Kmart, removing the stickers and then selling them on Gumtree for higher prices. The problem being false information is provided about the bike and thus misleading potential buyers. This scam was reporting in these forums and the seller logged in and started participating.

It is obvious from the style of writing that the forum user ausbike (Jenny or Jennay) has written the report to the original seller - this is not the way that I write.

If you have received one of these fraudulent reports, please let me know and forward me the emails as I need to collect these to take action.

Thank you
Christopher

[ldrcycles]

That is NOT cool

[The 2nd Womble]

Ausbike/AUbicycles. I should have known!




Report this bell end to Fair Trading and the ATO Chris. That's all you need to do to ensure this person's life isn't worth living. Oh and it's fun dispensing justice to someone who lacks a moral conscience.

[AUbicycles]

The gumtree seller is most likely not a registered business.

If anyone has had contact with this seller, please forward me any details you have such as their email address which they have used.

[The 2nd Womble]

We all have a TFN. The ATO is always very interested in ebay sellers and their revenue, so Gumtree won't be any different. I can ask an ATO senior for advice and PM you if you want Chris. Trust me, online sellers are a red reg to the ATO.

[chill1995]

this is hilarious.

[tekapo]

We all have a TFN. The ATO is always very interested in ebay sellers and their revenue, so Gumtree won't be any different. I can ask an ATO senior for advice and PM you if you want Chris. Trust me, online sellers are a red reg to the ATO.

Ebay sales is usually routed through Paypal that is linked to actual bank account. Therefore there is paper/audit trail for the ATO to track. On the other hand Gumtree is just a classified service that people post free ads to, the transactions are usually done in person via cash, and no trail for ATO to follow. Even if ATO can track the transactions down, a few sales of couple hundred dollars will not raise any flags, it might be you and me off loading some excess bikes.

At the end of the day, it's a scam and and its Gumtree's responsibility to sort it out. But even if Gumtree deletes Jenny's account, anyone (i.e. Jenny II) can just sign up a new one in seconds. Therefore its really up to the buyers to be aware and do their research.

[pentlandexile]

tsk... should be "my mates and I". Shocking grammar's usually a give away to some sort of flea-like activity.

[mr626]

Just had exactly the same thing happen to me after posting an ad. Will PM the details as requested.

[tekapo]

Just had exactly the same thing happen to me after posting an ad. Will PM the details as requested.

BTW, Gumtree uses a email anonymizer service when the email is sent through via their website.

I.e. If I responded to an ad, I write the text and would put my email abcde@fghij.com on Gumtree response interface. The recipient will receive an email from my-random-email@gumtree.com.au. If they respond to that email, they will send it to my-random-email@gumtree.com.au where gumtree will then forward it onto my actual abcde@fghij.com address. And vice versa for their email address, all I will see is their-random-email@gumtree.com.au which gumtree will then forward onto their real email address.

So collecting these anonymised email address is probably not useful unless Gumtree is willing to help and convert them into the real email addys.

[Just_visiting]

Just had the same thing as well. Lucky I checked here because I was just about to go postal on social media. I'd suggest getting your lawyer onto this, because you could take some reputation damage if people decide to vent without checking. No point posting any details, Gumtree is going to be your only hope of identification.

[AUbicycles]

I have posted a general writeup on the front page of BNA.

To be blunt, the seller was trying to intimidate me and forum members to stop referring to their fraudulent gumtree sales. And while I have to deal with the mess, at least we have an opportunity to further highlight this scam and protect innocent buyers from purchasing this type of equipment.

If you want to show your support, like and share this on facebook, perhaps raising broader awareness of the scammers activities is exactly what they don't want.
Gumtree Scammer - Bicycles Network Australia Imposter

[backslashio]

I'm another one who just got one of these messages via Gumtree. Very tempted to reply to him & send a nasty msg :p

[find_bruce]

I'm another one who just got one of these messages via Gumtree. Very tempted to reply to him & send a nasty msg :p

Nah, empathize with them & invite them round for a cup of tea. Don't tell them that constable plod will be joining your little chat

[AUbicycles]

Any replies come to me - Jennay, the scammer has been including my email address.
I already have enough upset responses from people who have received, so best just report to gumtree direct.

[TTar]

For a moment I was going to check in here to apologise for starting the thread that subjected everyone to this freak show, but flushing out "ausbike" is spiritually uplifting, was enormously entertaining and something everyone who participated should probably be proud of.

Anyway, I'm not sure that I'm entitled to feel affronted by this latest twist, but I am and I am keen to see this nonsense resolved in a just manner.

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

Cheers.

[ldrcycles]

For a moment I was going to check in here to apologise for starting the thread that subjected everyone to this freak show, but flushing out "ausbike" is spiritually uplifting, was enormously entertaining and something everyone who participated should probably be proud of.

+1, I think "jenny's" latest behaviour removes any doubt whatsoever that he/she is a scammer.

[Mulger bill]

+1000 more.

It stinks that this <removed> thinks victimising the owner of the site will have any bearing on the previous, current or future behaviour of any of those fine, honourable fellow BNA members who have taken the time and effort to find and report these sows ears as scams.

[The 2nd Womble]

Huh? I still want to buy the bike

[landyacht]

I probably need to thank the scammer, I went onto gumtree for the first time to sell my paconi and got a nasty email , ,found out it was a scammer, found BNA joined up and spent an excellent evening perusing, certainly better than television

[bigfriendlyvegan]

I probably need to thank the scammer, I went onto gumtree for the first time to sell my paconi and got a nasty email , ,found out it was a scammer, found BNA joined up and spent an excellent evening perusing, certainly better than television

Ooh, this could be a great new marketing scheme dreamed up by aubicycles.

Welcome to the forums, landyacht.

[AUbicycles]

Thanks landyacht - certainly a side-effect and glad you enjoy.

[bychosis]

There's positives in everything.

[Summernight]

Ohh... I haven't finished catching up on the old thread from Friday. Now THIS should be a good popcorn fest.

It is sad that this scammer has decided to target you, Christopher.
Maybe their KMart scams were actually lucrative enough to make this attack on you worthwhile....

I am assuming you have already contacted Gumtree about it?

And welcome, Landyacht. I would suggest, if you haven't already, you read the associated thread that is the prequel to this one for some light reading.

[TMjpn]

"it's your choice, we believe in choices"

Heard this before in the original thread from Jennay her(?)self, however it is bafflingly contradictory to the original intent of the email.

Theatening a person to remove an ad so as to not compete... then telling you that they believe in 'choices' - while trying to reducing the amount of choices??

Anyhow.. We can only hope that they don't sell bikes, thus cant pay for internet, and crawl back into the hole from which they came. I doubt it's that simple...

Judging by where the photos were taken - I know their local area - its near my uni... Hope I manage to spot them during in my travels

But hoping first and foremost that the stupidity of the situation ends soon. Someone really has alot of time on their hands.