Postage from Katherine to Darwin

Anyone know how long it takes to send an express post parcel from Katherine to Darwin?

sounds ok ..

I like how you blanked your address but left his bank account details and email address.

is he ANZ or ING Direct? ING Direct is apparently online only banking? sounds like a haven for dodgy scammers :P

$250 ipad 2 is where you should have been suspicious, not 6 days after it got "sent".

Quote from feary;399438:
If you struggle with getting in contact with him try the following link for information regarding online fraud, I had trouble with a sale on Skylines Australia and just a little understanding of the means to approach the matter can be enough to scare the person into more continued contact, worked for me :D
Hope the matter doesn't go that far.

How To Report Online Fraud - Skylines Australia

that link is great. thanks for that

Ask for the tracking number

I have 3 times now

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-12.387502,130.851794

Proper fucked? Be interested to see how you go. gl

Doesn't sound good atm. Contact your bank to see if you can reverse the transfer.

Quote from Minorci;399473:
Doesn't sound good atm. Contact your bank to see if you can reverse the transfer.

even if only to give the bank staff a good LOL.

$250 ipad2 screams dodgy

Quote from jimmy;399482:
$250 ipad2 screams dodgy

Anything Apple is dodgy

No problem mate, after a read of that you realise it isn't all gloom and doom if they are a resident of Aus, just a bit more effort to pursue than a paypal dispute :P

Quote from K_I_Z_A;399442:
that link is great. thanks for that

so item never arrived. had a person contact me through gu regarding the whole thing saying that he too was scammed bu the same guy see below
Quote:
Hi

I noticed that you had purchased an ipad 2. I have also purchased an ipad 2 from same person claiming he is in tas. Google his bsb number and it comes up as a sydney based bank. I have worked out he advertises ipads on gumtree and changes his name. eg his name was James kingston-smith and for you he was forest-smith and i found another add where he is chad weston-smith. I've been to my bank and they cant help me as i paid by net bank (online) so I have been to the police and put a statement in.
I managed to find you by googling the guys acount number and bsb number and had to register on this network to contact you.
If you want to keep in touch my email is [email]xxxxx@xxx.c[EMAIL="natham@live.com.au"]om.au[/email][/EMAIL].

Sorry for the news,

Natham.

yeah, do what he said, lodge it with the cops - feds deal with online fraud i think don't they?

Quote from Aegis;399650:
yeah, do what he said, lodge it with the cops - feds deal with online fraud i think don't they?
Usually the state cops deal with it.

The feds usually deal with the high end like nigerian scamming shit and windows support.

Hmm the NT fraud squad will deal with it when they have time between the donut breaks and playing darts.

Dude, that sucks.

Gum tree is full of this. I almost bought a puppy from someone, but got sus when the bank account of the dog transfer/middle man, was over seas and there email was poorly designed.

I did the online submittion to the Fed Fraud group, but as no money was exchanged they didn't contact me. I just hope they can't do anything with our names, dob, address, ect.

Looks similar to the one you posted about.
APPLE iPad 2 64GB with WiFi~3G - Computers & Software | Gumtree Darwin Region

Yeah I just replied to it. See what happens, if he is using the same bank acct.

TinEye says that those images where taken from another site, seems like you have a good chance of getting his number this time. You need to use another email address.

Yeah I did use a different email address. Fingers crossed anyway.

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-12.387561,130.851823

We have some NT police memebers on this forum.. maybe one of them can tell you what you can do or who you should report it too.

EDIT: Aegis Federal police dont look after online crime..
http://www.afp.gov.au/contact/report-a-crime.aspx - tells u what they look after.

Latest correspondence. Notice any similarities to the email I received.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Teresa Scallan
Date: Thursday, August 25, 2011
Subject: RE: Reply to your "APPLE iPad 2 64GB with WiFi~3G" Ad on Gumtree
To: Phillip Stokes-Smith <brownies79@live.com>

Hi Phillip can I get your address and phone number and bank account details. Would you be able to post to brisbane. And how much extra will it cost.

On Thursday, August 25, 2011, Phillip Stokes-Smith <brownies79@live.com> wrote:
> Good morning Teresa,
> The iPad 2 is still available for sale. I'm asking $300. We are situated in Katherine. Pickup or Registered Post is fine.
> Thank You,
> Phillip
>
> ________________________________
> From: [email]post@gumtree.com.au[/email]
> To: [email]brownies79@live.com[/email]
> Subject: Reply to your "APPLE iPad 2 64GB with WiFi~3G" Ad on Gumtree
> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:49:38 -0700
>
> Hello! The following is a reply to your "APPLE iPad 2 64GB with WiFi~3G <http://darwin.gumtree.com.au/c-Stuff-for-Sale-computers-software-other-computers-software-APPLE-iPad-2-64GB-with-WiFi-3G-W0QQAdIdZ308362096>" Ad on Gumtree:
>
> From: [email]Scallan.teresa@gmail.com[/email]
> Hi my name is teresa and i saw your ad on the gumtree. I would like to know if the ipad is still for sale. I am looking for one for my grandson.
> Thankyou
> Teresa

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-12.387419,130.851729

What is a Commonwealth crime?
Commonwealth crimes are crimes that fall within the law-making responsibilities of the Australian government (sometimes called the Federal government).

State and Territory crimes are crimes that fall within the law-making responsibilities of State and Territory governments.

Knowing which crimes are Commonwealth and which are not can be confusing and complex. Below are some examples:

Examples of Commonwealth crimes - report these to the AFP
Aircraft, airport and aviation crimes
Child sex offences by Australians in foreign countries
Drug importation and exportation
People smuggling - including for sexual slavery purposes
Online Child Exploitation (child abuse material)
Terrorism
Fraud against the Commonwealth government
Theft from the Commonwealth government
Assault on a Commonwealth official
Threats against a Commonwealth official

Examples of State or Territory crimes – report these to your local police
Abduction
Assault
Drink driving
Drugs - drug dealers and drug users
Fraud - including online and overseas frauds and scams
Home invasions
Kidnapping
Missing persons
Murder
Rape or sexual assault
Stalking - including online stalking
Theft - including theft of mail once delivered
Threats - including threats by phone, email, social networking sites, forums etc
Traffic offences

According to this you would just have to report it to the Local Police

yeah, i just said feds because that would've made sense - a federal agency should look after internet-based crimes since they ignore state/territory borders. But I forgot this is Australia.

Isn't impersonating someone for a financial transaction in itself illegal? Also does australia have entrapment laws?

Australia doesn't have entrapment laws as such. It is the fact that incitement to commit a crime is also a crime and the evidence gained as a result of committing incitement can be excluded.

got his ip
tracert gives me a static ip address belonging to tpg.com.au fingers crossed it all points to him

220.244.122.180 has just clicked on http://www.hondachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=IDr2lxPxaQKqib3AO. Thank you for using WhatsTheirIP.com. To stop receiving email notifications, simply go tohttp://www.whatstheirip.com/stop.php?id=IDr2lxPxaQKqib3AO

Take. Him. Down.

GET TO THE CHOPPA... hope u get him.. :)

hope you get him

Hi all, I found mention of this scam after Googling "smith Gumtree scam". Yes, I too have been sucked in by this scammer. I just wanted to put it out there that this fella is still out there doing business and making money off the innocent trusting (yes, suckers too) public.

I was scammed a few weeks ago on Gumtree Western Australia when looking to buy an IPad 2 ...

FYI, his MO is the same .. to use out of the city locations that make it more difficult to get to and increase the likelihood of someone paying via direct deposit. In my case, he said he was in Brookton (1.5 hours from Perth), was using the name Terrence Smith (Tez) and selling a near new Ipad 2 with cover for $520.

When I said I couldn't make it to Brookton, he was happy to take direct deposit and post. Once paid, I never heard from him again. Yes, I should have known better, but this guy is very convincing and totally believable. His reasons for selling were that his boss had given him a different tablet to use at home so he didn't need this one anymore. He also says he's a shift worker so contact can be difficult.

Mid-November I found him in Merredin (3 hours from Perth) apparently. He's was using the name Timothy Sellwood-Smith. He's selling two sealed Ipads with covers which he'd apparently bought for his children for Christmas. As they've bought Ipads themselves he doesn't need them and can't return them for a refund. He was happy to accept $975 for both or $580 for one and this time offered to pay the post. Given that he'd ripped me off a week ago, I'm sure he could afford it!!

Aside from the bank accounts mentioned previously, he's using two accounts at present:

St George Bank
Account Name - T Smith
BSB 112879
Account Number 420710367

and

Cuscal Limited
Branch Name Select Credit Union Ltd
Account Name - T Smith
BSB 802103
Account Number 501391

His mobile number is 0420 399 193. I haven't bothered to ring but I believe it goes to voicemail.

The address he gave in Merredin was a house that is listed on Google as being for sale. I wonder if this is also part of his MO. It currently belongs to a painter and decorator who I'm sure would love to know that his address is being given out to potential Ipad buyers who could rock up on his doorstep.

The third week in November I found him posting a Gumtree ad for an iPad in Narembeen, WA. Same MO, different email, different bank and using the name Tyrone Smith. The address in Narembeen is a vacant block according to Google. Bank details were:

Tyrone Smith
Ubank
BSB 082-991
Account 374873113.

He deletes the ad off Gumtree pretty much straight away. In fact, he deleted the ad as soon as I said I would buy the Ipads.

I'm led to believe by Gumtree and the bank branches being in Sydney, that this is where he is located.

I made reports to the technology department of the WA Police, to the NSW police as well as to Gumtree and to the three bank accounts he's given details for. I don't ever expect to see my money but it would be great to keep this guy on his toes and hopefully prevent others from making the same mistakes with this guy that I made.

For the record, I paid for only one item but I had good fun messing with him over the others in order to get the info I needed to make a report to bank and police

I have learned fm my mistake and won't buy anything off Gumtree sight unseen again and yes, if it looks too good to be true it probably is ... having said this, the guy is very believable and convincing that he is legit.

Btw, I've found another Perth local who was scammed on a TiVo by the same person, as Travis Smith, so he's not limited to his electronics ...

Cheers
Michelle

Gah!

Just found out that I have been done as well.
He sounded so convincing in the e-mail, I guess I'm just too trusting!
Here's the info he gave me.

Ted Edwardes-Smith
9 Noyes Street
Swansea 7190
Ph: 0420 505 743

Banking:
Ted Smith
BSB 082-991
Account Number 374873113

Does anyone have any idea where to move from here?
Any chance of getting my money back?

Cheers,
Sam

Talk to your bank, they may have some sort of fraud protection that will cover you for this. In that instance, I think they're also more likely to do something about hunting the prick down as well.

Just called the bank, they put through a request to recover funds?
Anyone know how successful there are?

between aussie banks, probably a good chance of getting it back

To those who have been stung... I'd actually forward this thread to the federal police. I'm sure there's a cyber crimes division.

It may fall under federal jurisdiction due to the fact he's "trading" across multiple states/territories. There's probably enough info in this thread alone to chase him down.

yeah, established earlier in the thread that the feds dont deal with online fraud. cos that would make sense.

This might offer some direction (sounds like a state/territory level thing): Internet fraud and scams - Australian Federal Police

Quote from MetalAttack;399696:
We have some NT police memebers on this forum.. maybe one of them can tell you what you can do or who you should report it too.

EDIT: Aegis Federal police dont look after online crime..
Report a Commonwealth crime - Australian Federal Police - tells u what they look after.

i'm sure the police could do something now that a few people had been done..

Mr Smith

[FONT=arial]Hi all

I urge any of you who have been scammed by the same person, alias Mr T Smith, to report him to the NSW police. I'm believe he is located in Sydney, evidenced by Gumtree and the fact that some of his bank branches are located there. Unfortunately as a new user, I'm not allowed to post the link to the forms for NSW (but maybe someone else on here can for everyone?). Look for them on the QLD (yes, QLD) website under:

Home › Programs › Community Safety and Crime Prevention › E Crime › Internet Auction Fraud › Report Online Auction Fraud ›
Step Three › New South Wales Police

In order to make a complaint to the New South Wales Fraud Squad you are required to download and complete the following two documents:[/FONT]- [FONT=arial]Complete an Official Police Statement
[/FONT]

- [FONT=arial]Complete the Fraud Reporting Form[/FONT]
[FONT=arial]
NOTE: If you experience problems with accessing these documents, please contact the Computer Crime Investigation Unit on 07 3364 4131.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial]
[/FONT][FONT=arial]Once both forms have been completed New South Wales Police request that you have the original statement witnessed by a Police Officer in your local area and then mail the statement, the fraud reporting form and any supporting documentation, (including proof of having lodged a dispute with the relevant auction provider), to the following address:[/FONT][FONT=arial]
[/FONT][FONT=arial]
Commander
Fraud Squad State
Crime Command
NSW Police Force
Locked Bag 5102
Parramatta NSW 2124[/FONT][FONT=arial]
[/FONT][FONT=arial]In addition to mailing the above documents it is also requested that you mail
proof of having lodged a dispute with the relevant internet auction provider
(for example, the copy of the mail received acknowledging receipt of your
complaint).[/FONT]
[FONT=arial]
[/FONT][FONT=arial]PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOUR COMPLAINT WILL NOT BE ACTIONED UNLESS YOU PROVIDE PROOF OF HAVING LODGED A DISPUTE WITH THE RELEVANT INTERNET AUCTION PROVIDER/WEBSITE.[/FONT][FONT=arial]
[/FONT][FONT=arial]If you were a victim of internet auction fraud on an auction site other than eBay (such as OZtion), the above statement is still appropriate to complete, just edit the statement to reflect the internet auction website you were using.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial]
[/FONT][FONT=arial]For evidentiary purposes it is extremely important that you keep the original emails in your email inbox until the investigation has been finalised.[/FONT][FONT=arial]
[/FONT][HR][/HR][FONT=arial]

I'll admit they're long and tedious forms to complete BUT PLEASE DO IT. It's the only way we have a hope of stopping this guy and the more of us submitting them, the more likely the police will follow it up.

I agree Sam, he is very convincing, very easy to get along with and probably getting pretty rich!

Cheers
Michelle[/FONT]