More than 100 buyers appeared in the house of a perplex pair after Bogus Online sellers used their address for a lucrative scam.
Leah and Gerard realized for the first time that something was wrong seven months ago when a woman was knocking on their door and claimed that she was there to pick up a bicycle she bought on Facebook market.
It turned out to be a scam, but unfortunately it was not a one -off.
It continued to happen so often that the Brisbane pair founded a sign in their front garden in which it was explained what happened and blocked their driveway with a safety barrier to prevent duped buyers from beating on their door.
“No idea why it happened to us,” Gerard told Nine News.
His wife added: “We had more than 100 people showing up to our house looking for items that we supposedly had for sale that we did not do.”
The duped buyers came to the sunshine and Gold Coasts that plans to pick up large items such as TVs, benches, mattresses and outdoor furniture.
All thought they bought from a legitimate seller, who turned out to be scammers who quickly made a profit of non-existent articles.
Leah and Gerard (photo) realized for the first time that something was wrong in July last year when a woman was knocking on their door and said she was there to pick up a bike she bought on Facebook market
The buyers were given the home address of Leah and Gerard as the pick -up place.
“They would arrive everywhere 7.30 in the morning, until 10-10.30 a.m.,” Leah recalled.
Her husband added: 'Some people had paid deposits, some people had organized organized Air Tasks to come and collect on their behalf. So not good, “said Gerard.
Cyber ​​Support Group ID Care has seen an increase in the Facebook market twists in the entire country, where fake sellers select random addresses to convince buyers that they are the local population.
“We find many of the victims who give money, they also give away scanned copies of their driver's license,” said Id Care Chief Executive Dave Lacey.
This means that 'identity theft is also a high risk' for the people who have been scammed.
The constant knock on their door forced the couple to set up a plate (shown)
While Gerard and Leah were sympathetic to the victims, the constant beating on their door became too much.
They also kept more and more concerned about their safety.
The couple placed a sign that outlined the details of the scam and installed a temporary barrier in their driveway to scare strangers to knock on their door.
In the end, their local MP successfully lobbyed Facebook owner Meta to remove the fake seller from the site.
Potential buyers on Facebook market are encouraged to ensure that the sellers are real people before they say goodbye to money or identification.
Red flags to pay attention are a new seller without followers, if the photo of the item is for sale from a catalog or if the price sounds too good to be true.
The couple are entangled in the scam by accident that they were 'just grateful that it stopped'.
