Bizarre reason 100 strangers turned up outside a couple’s home- and the drastic steps they had to take to stop it
More than 100 buyers have turned up at a perplexed couple’s home after bogus online sellers randomly used their address for a lucrative scam.
Leah and Gerard first realised something was amiss seven months ago when a woman knocked on their door claiming she was there to pick up a bicycle she bought on Facebook Marketplace.
It turned out to be a scam, but unfortunately, it wasn’t a one off.
It kept reoccurring so many times that the Brisbane couple erected a sign in their front yard explaining what happened and blocked their driveway with a safety barrier to stop duped buyers from knocking on their door.
‘No idea why it’s happened to us,’ Gerard told Nine News.
His wife added: ‘We had more than 100 people show up to our home looking for items that we supposedly had for sale, that we did not.’
The duped buyers came from as far as the Sunshine and Gold Coasts planning to pick up large items such as TVs, couches, mattresses and outdoor furniture.
All thought they were buying from a legitimate seller, who turned out to be scammers making a quick profit from non-existent items.
Leah and Gerard (pictured) first realised something was wrong in July last year when a woman knocked on their door saying she was there to pick up a bicycle she bought on Facebook Marketplace
The buyers were given Leah and Gerard’s home address as the pick up spot.
‘They would arrive anywhere from 7.30 in the morning, right through until 10-10.30 at night,’ Leah recalled.
Her husband added: ‘Some people had paid deposits, some people had organised Airtasker to come and collect on their behalf.
‘So not good.’
Cyber support group ID Care has seen a rise in Facebook Marketplace scams across the country, where fake sellers select random addresses to convince buyers that they are locals.
‘We find with many of the victims that are giving money, they’re also giving away scanned copies of their driver’s licence for example,’ chief executive Dave Lacey explained.
It means that ‘identity theft also is a big risk’ for the people who have been scammed.
While Gerard and Leah were sympathetic towards the duped buyers, the constant knocking on their door became too much.
They were also increasing concerned about their safety.
The couple put a sign which outlined the details of the scam and installed a temporary barrier on their driveway to deter strangers from knocking on their door.
Eventually, their local MP successfully lobbied Facebook owner Meta to remove the bogus seller from the site.
Potential buyers on Facebook Marketplace are urged to ensure the sellers are real people before parting with money or identification.
Red flags to watch out for include a new seller with no followers, if the photo of the item on sale is from a catalogue or if the price sounds too good to be true.
The couple inadvertently caught up in the scam said they were ‘just thankful that it’s stopped’.
