Gumtree & PayPal Overpayment Scam (2026 Update)

[nicbruzzese]

Ive just received emails from two other people with the same story.

there email adresses are:
[email protected]
[email protected]

[Bryon Williams]

Welcome to Scamwarners nicbruzzese thank you for posting.

Do not worry about your address. The scammer is only after your money. Just stop communicating with him. Also inform your bank that you gave your banking information to a scammer.

Please do not give scammers links to this site or inform them that they are posted here. The only thing that will occur is that the scammer will change his name, email address and the script he uses. This will make it harder for people to avoid being scammed when they search the internet for information. As there will be no information on the scammer.

I also removed your personal information in the post.

Bryon

[AlexRaffael]

I too googled the [email protected] email address after a text message was received from a would-be Gumtree buyer. The message did not state what item/s the buyer was interested in, vague to say the least. The language matched other reports Ive just read about on this site.

This is a real annoyance when I am seeking to sell my goods. If local sales were limited to a local audience I believe these types of attempted scams would be dramatically reduced.

Needless to say, this is obviously a scam. The phone number is false as the sms was sent using a cloaked online text message service.

R

[email protected] is a scam email address

[Bryon Williams]

Welcome to Scamwarners AlexRaffael ,

Yes, [email protected] is a scammer. I am glad that you searched for information.

Please post the phone number he used to text you. It will surely help others when they search.

Bryon

[Craigk]

Hi Dave,

I'm glad you made the post as I just had the exact same thing happen to me when trying to sell some wheels on gumtree.
I received a text message asking for my best price and to email him instead of replying to the text.
I sent an email with my best price and got this back which is clearly the same scam as you were involved in.

Thanks for the swift response...I am Ok with the asking price but do to the nature of my job and location...i will not be able to come for inspection,am a very busy type i work long hours everyday,i have gone through your advertisement and i am satisfied with itas for the payment,i will be paying you via the fastest and secure way to pay online(PayPal).I have a private courier agent that will come for the pick up after the payment have been made so no shipping included.You can now send me your PayPal email so i can pay in right away and also include your address in your reply.If you don't have a paypal account,you can easily set up one...log on to www.paypal.com and sign up.all i really need from you is the exact details.Kindly delete the posting as am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad for me to make the payment only to be informed of the its sale.
Thanks


No need to go any further.

Cheers
Craig

[Bryon Williams]

Hello and welcome to Scamwarners Craigk.

Could you please post he phone number used to text you and the email address the scammer used.

It will help others avoid being scammed when they search the internet for clues.

Bryon

[caitlinb]

just recieved a message from 0428465117 saying
"sent from vincecowel35: is your vehicle still for sale(two minutes after i posted ad on gumtree) what is the lowest price &the history condition of it? email. me more photos on [email protected]"
.........i replied if you are interested call, i dont use email......... 4 hours later i recieved another message from the same number saying
" sent from paul: i's interested in your gumtree ad, how much are you willing to sell it. email me at [email protected]"

[TerranceBoyce]

Welcome to Scamwarners caitlinb.

If a person is a serious buyer they'd pay attention to what you say as that's the only item they're after. A scammer is replying to hundreds of ads and has a fixed and set tactic that he won't and can't change. He'll ignore whatever you say and work his way through the responders in the hope that he'll get a few who'll do exactly what he wants.

This scam is pretty far fetched to pull off but it requires the least effort on his part. It all boils down to him getting you to believe he's made a spoof overpayment to your Paypal account which he wants you to believe is to cover his imaginary shipper's fees for someone to collect the goods. Of course, there's no reason he couldn't pay the shipper himself, but the scam doesn't work if he does that.

Don't use Western Union or Moneygram to pay a stranger money and never pay someone anything if you're selling goods, then maybe these vermin will find something useful to do with their time.

[Little_Rocky]

Just to let everyone know i received the same spam messages from these names/email addresses. Quiet annoyed at how frequent this occurs with gumtree
Simon Gibbins ([email protected]) 0428465117
Wayne Raphael ([email protected]) number was not visible with this one

[Bryon Williams]

Welcome to Scamwarners Little_Rocky.

I will agree with you about the amount of scam responses you get to your ad. My best suggestion and advice, would be to sell your property in person. Face to face with cash.

Thank you for posting.

Bryon

[aaurora]

Just wanted to THANK YOU for helping me realise these were scammers!

Also to let you know the following emails who are using the same template:

Kylie Hutchinson <[email protected]>
frank owen <[email protected]>

[Bryon Williams]

Welcome to Scamwarners aaurora,

Thank you posting the additional email addresses.

Kylie Hutchinson < [email protected] >
frank owen < [email protected] >

[phil.cook]

hi this idiot tried this on me using name paul datford woprking on an oil rig in taranaki telephone number he used was 0428 465 117

closed bank account and paypal account to be on safe side

hope he gets nailed eventually -

[TerranceBoyce]

Welcome to Scamwarners phil.cook.

There's probably no need to go as far as closing your accounts as these scammers are only seeking to persuade you to make payments to them and aren't planning to perform any complex frauds against you.

It sounds daft that anyone selling something can be persuaded to make a payment to the buyer but it does work in a small number of cases, and these idiots will spend all day in the bar replying to ads in the hope they can hook a few victims. They have nothing better to do and what they manage to steal will keep them in booze for the week. They'll send out hundreds of replies a day.

Beware of people saying they're at sea or on an oil rig and who claim they can't give you their number to call them back. These are signs that they're not located where they claim and don't want you to hear their foreign accent.

If you sell (or buy) on any ad site you'll come across scammers, so you had better know the signs to look for, or you're going to lose money. That's the sad fact.

[ciaocaro]

Hi There,

I posted an ad on Gumtree last night and overnight received contact from 3 scammers :

0427042684 [email protected] Max - wanting to buy my trailer as a surprise gift for his Dad but he is on a ship for another month so needed me to deal with his shipping agent

0428465117 [email protected] Sam Benson - Military man in Iraq wanting to buy the trailer for his Uncle in Perth, not allowed phone communications (but txt'd me to start with!)

cloaked number [email protected] - Jane Manson - a marine biologist on a ship whose son wants the trailer to be sent to Malaysia where his working/studying....

Hope disclosure of these helps others to stay safe ...

Thanks!