Have I Been Scammed? Facebook Marketplace Sold Item, Came to My House & PayID Was Done Whilst I Watched! UPDATED: 28 August

poczynek77 on 24/08/2023 - 08:52
Last edited 13/09/2023 - 07:12

Bit of a weird one and I am thinking i have been scammed but it seems different to all the ones that i have seen.

Details:

  • advertised on Facebook Marketplace on Sunday to sell my Apple Studio Display monitor
  • get a Facebook message from someone saying he would like to buy but asks for best price - i knock off $100 - and he agrees to the price
  • he says he will pick it up and asks best way to pay - i tell him direct bank deposit please - he says ok
  • he turns up on Tuesday this week and is a nice guy - we have a long chat about Teslas and him working for Star City Casino as a Supervisor there
  • tells me he lives in Homebush
  • well dressed etc (not sure that means anything but still)
  • he shows me his CBA app and him paying me by Payid and then he sends me the receipt right away by text where it shows his CBA bsb and account number. It is the EXACT receipt screen shot for a Payid payment - i literally saw him do it on his CBA app
  • the money doesn't go through straight away but the receipt does say it takes 24 hours to go through for accounts that are not known - i am ok with that
  • we chat more - he tells me about his brother and about his computers etc
  • he leaves with my Apple Studio Display
  • he texts me a few hours later asking if i can send him the receipt for when i bought the display - i say no problems and send it
  • i then contact him after 24 hours and tell him i haven't received the payment - he texts back saying it is 'pending' on his side
  • however since yesterday afternoon he is now uncontactable - if i ring his number it is always engaged and no text messages back since yesterday lunchtime and no money in my account
  • his Facebook profile i now cannot see - he may have blocked me maybe?

Is this a scam? It just seems different to the ones where it is me having to pay money etc. And it also seems strange he would come to my house and show me his CBA app and the receipt with his account details. What about if he got to my house and i didn't sell it because the money didn't get through straight away? There just seems so many ways this could have gone wrong for him if it is indeed a scam which seems like it probably is.

So i guess it is a scam?

EDIT:

This is the Payid CBA receipt i got:

https://ibb.co/jVhVD1Z

UPDATE 28 August:

Another poster was scammed the same way using the same type of receipt by the mysterious 'Deon Hong' on Saturday.

This guy … I wonder how many others he has scammed?

This is the Payid receipt that the other poster got:

https://ibb.co/cCcS6L8

These are the receipts side by side:

https://ibb.co/gZXxf7c

Mine is on the right

What we do know now:

-somehow he makes up the Payid on the spot which is pretty good for him to do that! Bravo Deon!!
-the other poster got his rego
-the other poster went to cops - I will go to cops tomorrow
-it could just be high end Mac goods?
-goes by Deon Hong on FB
-uses a photo of squid game actor

Questions now are:

-are even his account details correct as per those Payid screenshots? If he is creating the Payid receipts then why would you put your own account details?
-is his mobile number correct? REMOVED
-his rego number is possibly the only actual identifier of this person

UPDATE 30 AUGUST

We're closing in!

Third victim now who has video footage.

Deon - we are coming for you!

UPDATE 13 SEPT

We got him!

'Deon' was charged and arrested yesterday. Bail refused.

Thanks to all the victims who provided valuable identifying information to the police.

Podcast and Netflix doco to come…

General Discussion

Comments

Best
Search through all the comments in this post.
  • poczynek77 on 13/09/2023 - 07:13

    UPDATE 13 SEPT

    We got him!

    'Deon' was charged and arrested yesterday. Bail refused.

    Thanks to all the victims who provided valuable identifying information to the police.

    Podcast and Netflix doco to come…

    • 78
    • werdplaya58 on 13/09/2023 - 07:58

      Congrats on seeing it through OP!

      OzBargain's first crowd sourced arrest!

      It's hilarious that Deon likely even posted here as 'ohnohelpme' to threaten victims.

      And then has not been 'seen online' since because his bail was refused.

      • 15
      • pinkybrain on 13/09/2023 - 08:10

        It's hilarious that Deon likely even posted here as 'ohnohelpme' to threaten victims.

        more like trolling the victims with that username.

        OzBargain's first crowd sourced arrest!

        can't wait for the netflix show
        "Making a facebook scammer"

        • 2
        • werdplaya58 on 13/09/2023 - 08:17

          Was referring more to what he posted, about knowing where the victims lived.

          But yeah the username was definitely an attempt at trolling, it's a shame he was picked up before he could do a Q&A on here though.

          • 2
    • bamzero on 13/09/2023 - 08:36

      Good news everyone! (I hope you're reading that in your best Farnsworth voice)

      So were they able to track him down from the info provided or did they honeypot him and arrest him in the act?

      Hopefully they are able to recover a lot of the goods.

      Maybe we can also use this as an opportunity to encourage CBA, Westpac and any others that do it to get rid of the stupid 24 hour delay for "instant" transfers.

      • 7
    • pinkybrain on 13/09/2023 - 07:33

      got the link for the arrest news?

      • 6
    • matt-ozb on 13/09/2023 - 07:14

      Nice work.

      More details for the story please! :)

      This has been great.

      Will anything actually happen to him?

      What happens next?

      • 4
      • pinkybrain on 13/09/2023 - 07:35

        Will anything actually happen to him?

        Whether he pleads guilty or fights the charge in court

        Court will decide based on either outcome.

        What happens next?

        Court or he pleads guilty

        • 3
    • Wayne7497 on 13/09/2023 - 08:55

      What was his real name ?

      • 4
    • zonra on 13/09/2023 - 10:05

      Good work!
      Would love to hear more about the process as well please.
      It’s not very often scammers get what they deserve.

      • 4
    • ashdays on 13/09/2023 - 08:09

      It's a big shift going from police not being interested to him being nabbed.

      Who knew when this thread started that it'll end like this 😄

      How does this scum look like?

      • 3
      • Wayne7497 on 13/09/2023 - 08:14

        I did, always knew he would be caught was only a matter of time

        • 4
      • pinkybrain on 13/09/2023 - 08:13

        it's cos the thread was able to get all the victims to report to the police at similar time and show their are lots of victims
        and have evidence like CCTV and pics gathered that help.

        if it was not known how many victims he had
        some victim may not have come out to report it.

        • 2
    • [Deactivated] on 13/09/2023 - 16:39

      Very satisfying! Thanks to everyone on here who played a part and if anyone who’s been taken for a ride hasn’t made a police report yet, please do so. Let’s stack up the charges on this fool!

      • 3
    • cocomelon on 13/09/2023 - 23:44

      Finally we are seeing justice is being served!! Iam so thrilled great job!

      • 3
    • winz on 13/09/2023 - 08:36

      Amazing news! Congrats all on getting him arrested.
      Hope you all get your stolen stuffs back!

      • 1
    • Kranbone on 15/09/2023 - 12:06

      so glad you got him. if on bail, he'll either reoffend or flee.

      • 1
  • FoxJump on 24/08/2023 - 09:12

    if the payid doesn't come through. then no sale until it clears.

    i sold a car with payid.
    didnt come through immediately, i told the guy to come back when it did.

    2 days later it cleared, he picked up the car

    its like paying with a cheque

    • 51
    • ChadHominem on 25/08/2023 - 22:54

      How the F did they trust to just send you money without a guarantee of getting the car in return?

      • 1
      • FoxJump on 26/08/2023 - 00:10

        they came to my home.
        i wrote up a sale agreement that we both signed, where in it stated that the payment had to clear.
        i gave him a photo copy of my driver's licence.

        • 1
        • leeroys_dad on 26/08/2023 - 06:17

          These days I wouldn't be giving anyone a copy of licence

          • 2
          • RolandWaites on 26/08/2023 - 10:28

            @leeroys_dad: May as well. It's probably out there on the dark web already thanks to Optus, Medibank et. al.

            • 3
    • WhyAmICommenting on 25/08/2023 - 15:02

      Was he/she stressed about the payment?

      • 0
      • FoxJump on 25/08/2023 - 15:40

        nope. i told the guy that he knows where i live

        • 3
      • StalkingIbis on 21/09/2023 - 14:04

        When it happened to me I took the keys but the car stayed locked inside their garage. I thought that was a fair compromise.

        • 1
    • StalkingIbis on 25/08/2023 - 17:15

      Lol was that me? SIlver prado…?

      • 0
  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 24/08/2023 - 08:54

    Scammed

    Hope for your sake it’s a once off security hold and old mate accidentally broke his phone

    Common scam is to use a photoshopped receipt.

    • 34
    • kerfuffle on 24/08/2023 - 09:25

      Or schedule a payment, show the 'receipt', then cancel the payment.

      • 54
    • Kranbone on 27/08/2023 - 17:03

      I think he got scammed too. The fact that the other party isn't returning calls or messages and is now "blocked" on facebook doesn't bode well for the seller.

      With gumtree, I always insist on a face to face transaction with cash. If they want to do PayID, make sure it appears on your account before you give them the goods. if not, tell them to come back later or point them to an ATM. If they want the item enough, they'll make it work.

      • 2
  • Porker on 24/08/2023 - 08:58

    Give it another day perhaps. I previously accepted a Payid for $500 and got worried too when it didn't show the next day. It took something like 2 days (on memory) for the funds to arrive.

    The difference with you perhaps is the buyer also had real-time contact with me and responded - even so much as asking each morning if it had shown up.

    The closure of the facebook profile and dead phone number though appear red flags.. :\

    • 33
  • Gamer Dad Reviews on 24/08/2023 - 09:32

    This is why we must not let the evil government phase out physical cash.

    • 33
  • capslock janitor on 28/08/2023 - 19:18

    It's ironic how CBA's 24hr security hold, is being used as scamming tool..

    • 24
    • Munki on 29/08/2023 - 09:55

      I mean they were "complicit" with money laundering, were they not? How else would you become the biggest bank in Australia, if you didn't do/allow shady shit?

      • 3
    • dealsucker on 29/08/2023 - 10:41

      I dont think you can retract the transaction even if it is on hold with CBA. The transaction will go ahead even if you call them and ask them to cancel.

      • 0
      • Plantain on 29/08/2023 - 11:03

        You certainly can cancel it - I have done it.

        • 1
    • haemolysis on 29/08/2023 - 18:01

      It’s also such a nonsense feature as well. If the security is not sufficient to allow a transaction, then beef it up. Add another security check and let it clear. Don’t just hold it for a day and then…. Still put it through. What the hell security is that.

      • 0
  • Ocker on 24/08/2023 - 09:00

    Why send the receipt if you have not actually received the payment?

    • 22
  • mding on 29/08/2023 - 15:23

    lol, maybe he is reading this thread.

    Deon better sleep with one eye open. ozbargain is coming for you… at night… with a sock full of eneloops.

    • 22
    • wheretobuychocettes on 29/08/2023 - 15:27

      Careful, you'll be charged with battery.

      • 53
      • kalithreaver on 29/08/2023 - 15:47

        that would be shocking

        • 7
      • cashless on 29/08/2023 - 20:37

        Or sockpummeling

        • 0
    • blitz on 30/08/2023 - 16:24

      sleep with one eye open

      gripping his pillow tight

      • 1
    • AlienC on 30/08/2023 - 05:56

      damn this comment aged well

      • 0
    • AustriaBargain on 30/08/2023 - 13:39

      You'd be surprised how few people know about OzBargain and how most of us don't know about other random niche websites and social media groups Aussies use.

      • 0
  • Baysew on 24/08/2023 - 08:59

    asks best way to pay - i tell him direct bank deposit please

    Do the words - own goal and shoot yourself in the foot, mean anything to you?

    • 21
    • ChatCPT on 24/08/2023 - 21:38

      spotted where it went wrong.
      right answer is cash

      • 43
      • Kangal on 26/08/2023 - 14:19

        Cash is King.
        Repeat it, Remember it, Require it.

        • 10
        • Bullion78 on 27/08/2023 - 10:47

          Not for long sadly, unless people wake up

          • 4
        • formulated on 30/08/2023 - 15:11

          Still flabbergasted living in a rural area, where ETFPOS & ATM's can go out for an afternoon and people don't have cash. With petrol stations and supermarket lines of people that should know better. My broke ass, a king with a $50 note.

          • 1
        • Bladeyyy21 on 26/08/2023 - 15:18

          Bitcoin aint bad either. Transactions are irreversible and the blockchain is public

          • -6
    • surg3on on 25/08/2023 - 11:38

      Osko works fine if you check receipt on YOUR OWN PHONE

      • 30
      • [Deactivated] on 26/08/2023 - 16:49

        Exactly, unless the money is in my account I ain't giving shit.

        People transfer me money instantly all the time.

        • 4
    • werdplaya58 on 29/08/2023 - 12:09

      Kudos OP for turning your unfortunate experience into something others may learn from.

      And inadvertently creating an OzBargain themed true crime thread in the process.

      If I had to guess the perp's industry I would have thought IT / graphic design (not that interesting but seemed to fit the bill)

      • 3
    • ashdays on 29/08/2023 - 13:04

      This is a big turning point in this thread. From what seemed like a regular run of the mill scam story to a top notch whodunit story!

      Well done Ozbargainers. You always deliver above and beyond!

      One thread like this every week and who needs Netflix!

      • 2
    • asdfasdfasdfasdf on 29/08/2023 - 13:21

      I am really looking forward to knowing what will happen next!

      • 2
      • blurn on 29/08/2023 - 13:33

        This reminds me of the scammer on ozbargain from a few years back who sold a used xbox as new to another ozbargain member.

        • 0
      • JIMB0 on 29/08/2023 - 17:28

        Bikies is the next step.

        • 0
    • noone on 29/08/2023 - 12:53

      Any of the details he shared to be true? i.e. Deon working at Star city?

      • 0
      • poczynek77 on 29/08/2023 - 13:24

        No not at all from what we think is him.

        • 0
  • Wayne7497 on 29/08/2023 - 23:21

    Do you have his actual real phone number ? Because police would do a CCR call Charge Report with telco, get all his details from that also able to track the phone, Reverse CCR also gives you all outgoing incoming calls sms etc for every person hes scammed. Yes im a recently retired Police Officer officer with 37yrs under my belt.. So been there done that. Many a time. Only thing is CCRs are not cheap yup telcos bill the Police, sometimes bosses just won't authorise CCR cost vs scale of the crime, right no absolutely not but spending 2k tax payers dollars on something worth much less isn't financially viable either, I had guy put in a complaint on me for 200 stolen phone the time frame would have cost 4k for CCR I said no as I knew the bosses would never approve it.

    • 18
    • geekcohen on 30/08/2023 - 16:42

      Only thing is CCRs are not cheap yup telcos bill the Police

      Thats a joke.

      Cost 4k for CCR I said no as I knew the bosses would never approve it.

      WHAT THE!? $4k!? And here Telstra is putting up everyone's bill because of "inflation" and "CPI", but they make $4k off a CCR.

      • 1
      • Wayne7497 on 30/08/2023 - 16:51

        Cost of CCR is dependent on times, obviously 1 day is cheaper than 1 month, the time period your requesting

        Cant argue with telcos they do nothing for free, sure you could try for a subpoena or search warrant but youll never get it done quickly and whilst CCR might produce results alot of the times they do take fair bit of time to compile ie hour's, and the telcos will say yes we can supply but as they are a mere conduit for evidence and not directly involved in the specific crime that they should be financially compensated arguments on both sides i guess have positive n negatives

        • 0
        • geekcohen on 30/08/2023 - 18:47

          Cost of CCR is dependent on times, obviously 1 day is cheaper than 1 month, the time period your requesting

          Ah right, okay, I guess that is fair enough. Big database to query and get the information you want I guess. It still pretty crappy though to charge such a high rate.

          • 0
  • Iggy75 on 03/09/2023 - 17:17

    This guy , same name and number is suppose to meet me in the city to buy my omega watch (14k) , ofcourse i wont accept giving it until cash is in my bank regardless of what receipt says but i think hes currently scared to meet up at market city, hes late and was asking before where to meet me, maybe planning to do a runner when he looks at the watch. Currently havent heard from him 35 minute's , i just googled his number and this thread came up, thank you for saving me.

    • 18
    • bamzero on 03/09/2023 - 17:57

      I wouldn't trust this guy even if money did hit my bank, but yeh doing a runner is another thing to worry about

      • 3
  • JCrown9 on 24/08/2023 - 09:09

    CBA from my experiance are the only bank that can take 24hours for new accounts to do transfers too.

    just wait the time frame and see if anything is in your account. If not try take further action then.
    But yes, frustrating when people are with CBA.

    • 17
    • Ozzy Ozbargain on 29/08/2023 - 22:19

      All these comments saying to wait are hilarious. CommBank provide this feature to protect their customers from sending money to the wrong person. It gives them 24 hours to reconsider.

      If the money isn't in your account don't hand over the goods. Tell them to use a different bank that does instant transfers. Which is pretty much every other bank. Or take out cash.

      • 2
      • leiiv on 05/09/2023 - 20:45

        It is hilarious because it defeats the purpose of payid, which is instant payment. The customers should be allowed to opt out of the wait time.

        • 2
    • Looking4Bargians on 24/08/2023 - 09:15

      Me bank can take upto 48 to 72 hours.

      • 1
    • montorola on 25/08/2023 - 09:18

      Nah not just CBA.

      I'm with St George (Worstpac group) and they take 24h for new payees too

      • 1
      • randomusername2017 on 25/08/2023 - 11:08

        Both Westpac & St George, smaller payments (<$1000) are instant to new payees, just get an app/SMS notification. Larger payments require SMS code but still received instantly.

        • 3
    • poczynek77 on 24/08/2023 - 09:13

      Yes for sure but the transaction was completed at 1pm on Tuesday - it is almost 48 hours since then.

      • 0
      • sumyungguy on 24/08/2023 - 09:28

        The 24-hour hold on first time payments allows the payer to reverse the transaction. Contact CBA to see if they can help with the scam reversal. Edit: I see you've already tried that.

        • 6
      • timedzone on 25/08/2023 - 16:05

        I would say it is 90%+ legit. I have ran into this issue with CBA on both sides (as buyer and seller) for a few times to the point that now I make it clear I do not accept payment from CBA at all when selling. If the buyer insisted on paying from CBA, I will tell them in advance about this issue and if it happens they will have to wait until the payment clears before taking possession of the items.

        • 1
      • thrillhouse on 25/08/2023 - 09:20

        Give it time, I’ve been in a similar situation with PayID taking a few days from a new payer.

        Should always be vigilant but I think people here are jumping to conclusions.

        The deleted profile is odd, but it may also be Facebook acting up (since you’ve probably marked it as sold)

        • 0
    • Sidor on 25/08/2023 - 07:33

      indeed, CBA sucks big time

      • 0
  • FoxJump on 24/08/2023 - 09:13

    also. i hate when they ask for best price.

    • 17
    • Fuzzy Toaster on 25/08/2023 - 08:36

      This pisses me off so much. Why would I negotiate against myself? Make an offer, that's how this works..

      • 11
      • FoxJump on 25/08/2023 - 08:36

        correct.

        • 0
    • batfastard on 25/08/2023 - 07:46

      Best price for you or best price for me?

      I can go as high as you like.

      :-P

      • 10
    • JIMB0 on 24/08/2023 - 09:36

      Less for cash.

      • 7
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