​

Technology can save us a lot of time and effort, allowing us to communicate with others, shop for groceries online, learn new skills and even buy cars with a few clicks.

But, as much as we appreciate modern conveniences, there are certain risks involved. For example, scams are quite common, costing Aussies hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

Unfortunately, one Perth car hunter found this out the hard way: after placing an online order for a Mazda 3 in October last year, instead of a rare steal she ended up losing $4550, a story that has caught the attention of many.

The primary school worker found an online ad describing a Mazda 3 for sale and sent a message to the seller asking if it was still available. She was told that the car belonged to the seller’s niece, who had moved to Darwin with her two children after the death of her husband.

Be careful when using Facebook Marketplace. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Convinced by the emotional story, Saxton exchanged plenty of messages with the seller and received several photos of the car–without taking the time to inspect the vehicle in person. Feeling satisfied, she agreed to purchase and supplied her personal identification and a selfie–along with the money.

But, instead of receiving her valuable new purchase, the next day Saxton was asked to pay an additional $2000 fee, which was meant to cover the delivery expenses from the NT, a 3800-kilometre journey by road.

That’s when the alarm bells began to sound, and the car hunter realised she had been taken for a ride.

'The transaction was pending, I tried to get it stopped but turned out they couldn’t be stopped,' she said.

'The money got transferred to Bitcoin straight away, so it couldn’t be traced. So I lost $4550.'

Saxton doesn’t want anyone else to suffer such a costly mistake, so she shared her story to hopefully save others from the same thing.

Key Takeaways

• A Perth woman was scammed out of $4550 on Facebook Marketplace while trying to purchase a car.
• Violet Saxton was convinced by a fabricated emotional story and purchased a Mazda 3 car without seeing it, which she never received.
• After losing her money, Saxton warns others of the potential scams prevalent on online marketplaces.

Members, if you’re looking to buy a car, do a proper check first. Consumer Protection has launched a guide to better protect online buyers and dealers, offering a thorough checklist on inspecting a vehicle for damage and an option to do a security check for a $2 fee.

‘These new regulations and the release of the used car buyer’s checklist will bring some peace of mind to buyers in Western Australia who are looking for a used car that is safe, roadworthy and reliable,’ Commerce Minister Sue Ellery said.

‘Prospective used car buyers are strongly encouraged to do a $2 PPSR check using the VIN number found in the owner’s manual before purchasing a used car to avoid buying a repairable write-off, a vehicle that is stolen, or that has finance owing.’

Of course, keep an eye out for possible scams and always have a mechanic inspect the car if you can.

When it comes to our hard-earned money, it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Have you ever come across this scam before? Let us know in the comments below.

 

[KSS]

Why would you even consider buying a car without checking it first and making sure it isn't a stolen vehicle?

Particularly when buying from interstate. This scam has been around for a few years now and is ALWAYS involving an interstate transfer of the vehicle involved.

 

[KSS]

This happened to me last week I had a Woodfire for sale on market place and I got a message from somebody who wanted to buy it but they could only use PayID and because it was a business account they would have to put more money into my bank than the item was worth and I would have to refund them the difference it turned out I was being scammed and luckily I didn’t have much money in the account so they couldn’t get anything and I only realised it was a scam when I rang my bank and they told me nothing was going into my account the scammer tried to ring me and as soon as I rang them back and said you are scamming me they hung up and I haven’t heard anything since so please be careful on market place and only accept cash and nothing else I hope this everybody.

Anyone who only wants to use PayID on any marketplace is a scam. This has been highlighted in mainstream media recently. Also, the story you were spun is absurd. A business account that could only pay more than the required amount is clearly a con. At least you had a lucky escape but really, why were you convinced it was all OK?

 

[Strawb]

I totally agree. I have no idea why my stepdaughter and her partner did not personally look at the car first.

Pickup and cash is fine if they’re in the vicinity but in the event of sending via post PayID is a safe and secure way of accepting payments I use that method or PayPal and it’s especially convenient if you don’t want to give your bank details for a bank deposit nothing wrong with PayID but with the purchase of a car that’s completely different I wouldn’t be handing any money over until everything has been checked out that just goes without saying

 

[BruceC]

Yes. I got caught by the same people when trying to buy a golf cart. Reporting it didn’t help even though the money went to a genuine bank. And I thought I was fairly savvy with these things. I lost $4000

I simply say more fool you!

 

[peter leslie]

​

Technology can save us a lot of time and effort, allowing us to communicate with others, shop for groceries online, learn new skills and even buy cars with a few clicks.

But, as much as we appreciate modern conveniences, there are certain risks involved. For example, scams are quite common, costing Aussies hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

Unfortunately, one Perth car hunter found this out the hard way: after placing an online order for a Mazda 3 in October last year, instead of a rare steal she ended up losing $4550, a story that has caught the attention of many.

The primary school worker found an online ad describing a Mazda 3 for sale and sent a message to the seller asking if it was still available. She was told that the car belonged to the seller’s niece, who had moved to Darwin with her two children after the death of her husband.

View attachment 26878

Be careful when using Facebook Marketplace. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Convinced by the emotional story, Saxton exchanged plenty of messages with the seller and received several photos of the car–without taking the time to inspect the vehicle in person. Feeling satisfied, she agreed to purchase and supplied her personal identification and a selfie–along with the money.

But, instead of receiving her valuable new purchase, the next day Saxton was asked to pay an additional $2000 fee, which was meant to cover the delivery expenses from the NT, a 3800-kilometre journey by road.

That’s when the alarm bells began to sound, and the car hunter realised she had been taken for a ride.

'The transaction was pending, I tried to get it stopped but turned out they couldn’t be stopped,' she said.

'The money got transferred to Bitcoin straight away, so it couldn’t be traced. So I lost $4550.'

Saxton doesn’t want anyone else to suffer such a costly mistake, so she shared her story to hopefully save others from the same thing.

Key Takeaways

• A Perth woman was scammed out of $4550 on Facebook Marketplace while trying to purchase a car.
• Violet Saxton was convinced by a fabricated emotional story and purchased a Mazda 3 car without seeing it, which she never received.
• After losing her money, Saxton warns others of the potential scams prevalent on online marketplaces.

Members, if you’re looking to buy a car, do a proper check first. Consumer Protection has launched a guide to better protect online buyers and dealers, offering a thorough checklist on inspecting a vehicle for damage and an option to do a security check for a $2 fee.

‘These new regulations and the release of the used car buyer’s checklist will bring some peace of mind to buyers in Western Australia who are looking for a used car that is safe, roadworthy and reliable,’ Commerce Minister Sue Ellery said.

‘Prospective used car buyers are strongly encouraged to do a $2 PPSR check using the VIN number found in the owner’s manual before purchasing a used car to avoid buying a repairable write-off, a vehicle that is stolen, or that has finance owing.’

Of course, keep an eye out for possible scams and always have a mechanic inspect the car if you can.

When it comes to our hard-earned money, it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Have you ever come across this scam before? Let us know in the comments below.

Why did she get some body to go around to check on the car before your talk money ...I BET SHE WAS BLONDE ...NO REAL SMART ..I bought a car from Sydney 2 month ago , But we went to Sydney and check it out , 3 were crap ,but got a good one from Newcastle .Every write how good there car are , but rubbish .This girl has learned the hard way .

 

[KSS]

Once again I have no sympathy whatsoever for this stupid fool.
who in their right mind would pay any money fora vehicle without firstly checking it for roadworthiness and checking ownership history and wether there was any finance owing on it?
This is not a scam, it is a dumb women doing a stupid thing.
If people stopped falling for these things they wouldn’t exist!
A fool and their money are easily parted!

Umm.... point of order Bruce C. It is not just women who fall for scams. From Fintech Times 28 June 2023:
Women are less likely to have experienced a financial scam than men (9% versus 15%), and over a third of men (35%) admitted to having been the victim of investment fraud, compared to 22% of women. However, when it comes to current account fraud, more women said they had fallen victim (27% versus 21%).

And you might like to look at the latest statistics here https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/research-and-resources/scam-statistics that show men are more likely to be scammed than women 57%:42%

On these reports and there are others from round the world showing similar results I'd say it is dumb men doing stupid things for the most part. Although I do agree stupidity has no gender.

 

[juno28]

​

Technology can save us a lot of time and effort, allowing us to communicate with others, shop for groceries online, learn new skills and even buy cars with a few clicks.

But, as much as we appreciate modern conveniences, there are certain risks involved. For example, scams are quite common, costing Aussies hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

Unfortunately, one Perth car hunter found this out the hard way: after placing an online order for a Mazda 3 in October last year, instead of a rare steal she ended up losing $4550, a story that has caught the attention of many.

The primary school worker found an online ad describing a Mazda 3 for sale and sent a message to the seller asking if it was still available. She was told that the car belonged to the seller’s niece, who had moved to Darwin with her two children after the death of her husband.

View attachment 26878

Be careful when using Facebook Marketplace. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Convinced by the emotional story, Saxton exchanged plenty of messages with the seller and received several photos of the car–without taking the time to inspect the vehicle in person. Feeling satisfied, she agreed to purchase and supplied her personal identification and a selfie–along with the money.

But, instead of receiving her valuable new purchase, the next day Saxton was asked to pay an additional $2000 fee, which was meant to cover the delivery expenses from the NT, a 3800-kilometre journey by road.

That’s when the alarm bells began to sound, and the car hunter realised she had been taken for a ride.

'The transaction was pending, I tried to get it stopped but turned out they couldn’t be stopped,' she said.

'The money got transferred to Bitcoin straight away, so it couldn’t be traced. So I lost $4550.'

Saxton doesn’t want anyone else to suffer such a costly mistake, so she shared her story to hopefully save others from the same thing.

Key Takeaways

• A Perth woman was scammed out of $4550 on Facebook Marketplace while trying to purchase a car.
• Violet Saxton was convinced by a fabricated emotional story and purchased a Mazda 3 car without seeing it, which she never received.
• After losing her money, Saxton warns others of the potential scams prevalent on online marketplaces.

Members, if you’re looking to buy a car, do a proper check first. Consumer Protection has launched a guide to better protect online buyers and dealers, offering a thorough checklist on inspecting a vehicle for damage and an option to do a security check for a $2 fee.

‘These new regulations and the release of the used car buyer’s checklist will bring some peace of mind to buyers in Western Australia who are looking for a used car that is safe, roadworthy and reliable,’ Commerce Minister Sue Ellery said.

‘Prospective used car buyers are strongly encouraged to do a $2 PPSR check using the VIN number found in the owner’s manual before purchasing a used car to avoid buying a repairable write-off, a vehicle that is stolen, or that has finance owing.’

Of course, keep an eye out for possible scams and always have a mechanic inspect the car if you can.

When it comes to our hard-earned money, it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Have you ever come across this scam before? Let us know in the comments below.

Yes I came across 2adds similarly near Identical .they were selling a mazdacx3 for 4,500 which was quite cheap .but the catch was the car was in a container in northern Territory. So she wanted u to pay for car and she could have it delivered to you ..I came sosooo close to buying it only a friend was telling me that happened yrs ago but never got car...so I sent email back to say I was reporting her as a scam .a couple of weeks later she had the car up again 4sale.....
It happens alot ,im putting this ad up for my sister who doesn't have a Facebook account .call the number provided not the ad person ...