Three Australians have urged others to be diligent when using Facebook Marketplace after chatting with a fraudster posing as a friendly Sydneysider selling a designer sofa.
Jason Fassbender, Georgina Solomon and Georgina’s boyfriend Bec were all conned into thinking an $800 black leather Togo set from Michel Ducaroy was authentic, with Bec even paying a $100 deposit to secure the deal.
The ad caught their attention when the designer three-seater and two-seater retailed for anywhere from $8,000 to $33,000.
Georgina, 39, was given an address in Surry Hills and was only told she had fallen for the scam by the resident when she visited the location.
Georgina, a model and founder of photography studio Prim Haus, has been a regular Marketplace user for ten years and was browsing when she came across what she thought was a remarkable find.
Sydney model Georgina Solomon (pictured) came across a black leather Togo set from Michel Ducaroy for $800 on Facebook Marketplace and eagerly messaged the seller as the designer item sells for at least $8,000
Jason Fassbender (pictured) messaged another seller and almost fell into a scammer’s trap as well
The fraudsters posed as friendly Sydneysiders selling ‘designer items’ and solicited deposits from buyers, only to later block them once received
Georgina went to an address in Surry Hills where she was allowed to look at the bank, but met the resident who warned her it was a scam. The man then placed a sign on his door (photo)
She said she always outsources products from Marketplace to her studio, which focuses on sustainability and recycled pieces.
Georgina nearly fell over when she saw the price of the sofa, knowing that such a product usually retails for at least $8,000.
“I contacted the seller, who would respond at very odd hours, like 2am or 4am,” Georgina recalls.
‘I had the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. He asked me questions and I felt pressured to buy.”
She was then asked to pay a $200 deposit to secure the sale – and she almost did.
But instead she decided to visit the given address in Surry Hills to check out the bank.
“I knocked on the door and this poor man answered and said, ‘Oh no, not anymore,’” Georgina said.
‘His face said it all and I said to him, “Oh no, it’s a scam, isn’t it?” and he nodded.’
‘The man said, ‘I’m so sorry, there are no benches here. You’ve been scammed. More than twenty people came to my door yesterday.”
Georgina said the man then took a piece of paper warning others to report the profile and taped it to his front door.
Georgina walked home empty-handed, but she was glad she hadn’t lost any money.
“It’s the thrill of the chase because you never know, you might find some gold,” she added.
Georgina uses the platform to sustainably purchase second-hand items for her creative photo studio Prim Haus (photo)
When she moved from Adelaide to Sydney, she also bought items from Marketplace to fill her home (pictured)
That same week, Bec lost $100 after giving the scammer a deposit, but she admitted she was willing to lose the money.
The 40-year-old told FEMAIL that she came across the same sofa while moving and wanted to swap some furniture on Facebook Marketplace.
“You can get lucky sometimes because some people don’t know the value of the things they have,” she said.
‘I contacted them to see if the sofa was still available. To be honest, I thought it was too good to be true.”
Bec offered to pay the deposit and admitted that she should have done her research first.
“Even if it was a scam, I was willing to lose $100. It was worth the risk, just in case the listing was real,” she said.
But when she was sent the Surry Hills address and entered into Google, she realized the property did not match the brick house shown in the photos.
Bec then did some more research on the profile – which, while it looked authentic with 5,400 followers – had a location tag to Africa.
“I was still in denial but then I saw a photo on Georgina’s Instagram story of the same sofa and a note on the front door of the property,” she recalls.
Bec messaged the seller asking for her money back for the deposit and sent a photo of the note, but she was immediately blocked.
“It only takes 10 people paying a $100 deposit for him to make money from that one listing,” she said.
Jason Fassbender also almost fell into another scammer’s trap.
Mr Fassbender told FEMAIL he collects classic designer items and is “always on the hunt” for his next find.
“I was browsing the market and saw what looked like an incredibly good deal on a vintage Mario Bellini le bambole sofa, so I started the research process by asking why it was selling so cheap,” he said.
The seller replied quickly, explaining that the price was cheap because he ‘wanted it gone before he moved to Melbourne’.
The product was listed for $850 but is sold elsewhere for up to $15,000, so Jason requested more images which were provided.
What he did next put him one step ahead of the fraudster.
“I did a reverse image search of them and found the exact same photos on a 1st Dibs listing with the bank intact – $15,000,” he said.
“When I asked the seller about it, he blocked me.”
While Facebook scams are nothing new, the three separate experiences certainly highlight the importance of being alert online – more than ever before.