Three Australians have urged others to be diligent when using Facebook Marketplace after chatting with a scammer posing as a friendly Sydney resident selling a designer sofa.
Jason Fassbender, Georgina Solomon and Georgina’s friend Bec were tricked into believing an $800 black leather Togo set by Michel Ducaroy was authentic and Bec even paid a $100 deposit to secure the deal.
The listing caught his attention as the three- and two-seater design retails for between $8,000 and $33,000.
Georgina, 39, was given an address in Surry Hills and was only told by the resident she had fallen for a scam when she visited the location.
Georgina, a model and founder of photography studio Prim Haus, has been a regular Marketplace user for 10 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 by Michel Ducaroy on Facebook Marketplace for $800 and excitedly messaged the seller, as the designer item sells for a minimum of $8,000 .
Jason Fassbender (pictured) messaged another seller and also almost fell into a scammer’s trap.
Scammers posed as friendly Sydneysiders selling “designer” items and asked for deposits from buyers, only to then block them once received.
Georgina went to an address in Surry Hills given to her to go see the sofa only to meet the resident who alerted her it was a scam. The man then put a sign on her door (pictured).
He said he always outsourced products from Marketplace for his studio, which focuses on sustainability and recycled parts.
Georgina almost fell over when she saw the price of the sofa, since she knew that a product of this type usually sells for a minimum of $8,000.
“I contacted the seller, who responded at really strange hours, like 2 or 4 in the morning,” Georgina recalled.
“I had a feeling that something wasn’t quite right. He asked me questions and I felt pressured to buy.’
They then asked him to pay a $200 deposit to secure the sale, and he almost did.
But he decided to visit the address given in Surry Hills to go look at the sofa.
“I knocked on the door and this poor guy answered and said, ‘Oh no, no more,'” Georgina said.
‘His face said it all and I said, “Oh no, it’s a scam isn’t it?” and he nodded.
“The man said, ‘I’m so sorry, there are no sofas here. You have been scammed. Yesterday more than 20 people came to my door.”
Georgina said the man then took a piece of paper alerting others to report the profile and taped it to the front door.
Georgina walked home empty-handed, but was glad she hadn’t lost any money.
“It’s the thrill of the chase because you never know, you might find some gold,” he added.
Georgina uses the platform to sustainably source second-hand items for her creative photography studio Prim Haus (pictured)
When she moved from Adelaide to Sydney, she also bought items on Marketplace to fill her home (pictured)
That same week, Bec lost $100 after paying a deposit to the scammer, but admitted she was willing to lose the money.
The 40-year-old told FEMAIL that she came across the same sofa when she was moving house and wanted to change some furniture on Facebook Marketplace.
“Sometimes you can get lucky because some people don’t know the value of the items they have,” he said.
‘I walked over to see if the couch was still available. To be honest, it seemed too good to be true.
Bec offered to pay the deposit and admitted she should have done her research first.
‘Even if it was a scam, I was willing to lose $100. It was worth taking the risk in case the quote was real,” he stated.
But when he was sent the Surry Hills address and put it into Google, he realized the property didn’t match the exposed brick house in the photos.
Bec then did some more research on the profile, which although it looked authentic with 5,400 followers, there was a location tag in Africa.
“I was still in denial, but then I saw a photo on Georgina’s Instagram story of the same couch and a note on the front door of the property,” he recalled.
Bec messaged the seller asking for her deposit money back and sent a photo of the note, but was instantly blocked.
“It would only take ten people paying a $100 deposit for him to make money from that listing,” he said.
Jason Fassbender also almost fell into the trap of another scammer.
Fassbender told FEMAIL that 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 inquiry process by asking why it was selling so cheap,” he said.
The seller quickly responded explaining that the price was cheap because he “needed it gone before moving to Melbourne.”
The product was listed for $850 but is sold elsewhere for up to $15,0000, so Jason asked for more images which were provided.
What he did next put him one step ahead of the scammer.
“I did a reverse image search and found the exact same images on a 1st Dibs listing where the couch was intact: $15,000,” he said.
“When I asked the seller about it, he blocked me.”
While scams on Facebook are nothing new, the three different experiences certainly highlight the importance of being vigilant online, more than ever.