A young woman was left so traumatized she moved home after an encounter with a “creepy” man who asked her about buying an old television she was selling.
Tania, from Melbourne, gave her address to a potential buyer who said he was interested in purchasing the item she posted on Facebook Marketplace in March.
But when he arrived at her door, he appeared to show no interest in the television and began making unwanted advances toward Tania and her housemate.
She shared a video that went viral on TikTok speaking candidly about her experience and warning others to be careful.
“Please be careful on Marketplace… If you absolutely have to have someone come to your house to pick up what you’re selling, don’t stay home alone,” Tania said.
Tania said she wants to warn others to be careful because the encounter left her so traumatized that she ended up moving away from home.
He recalled his own experience after receiving a response from a man disguised as a genuine buyer.
“I said, ‘Great, please come and take a look.’ He sounded like he was very interested… he was practically coming to pick it up,” he said.
“Luckily I was home with my housemate, so we took the TV outside so he doesn’t come in.”
When the man showed up at her house, Tania says she instantly realized that he was showing little interest in the television and that the situation was quickly becoming uncomfortable.
“He just looked at TV a couple of times… and was like, ‘Cool, cool, yeah…’ and then he switches to us and starts saying, ‘So, girls, do you smoke?’ she said.
‘We say, “What do you mean?” He says, “You know, you guys smoke? Do you want to come in and hang out?”
Tania recalled feeling “quite strange” and asked the man to leave.
Despite this, he began to ask inappropriate questions.
‘He just said to me, ‘Well, girls, are you willing to try new things?’ she remembered.
“My housemate and I just stared at each other, communicated with our eyes, and were like, ‘Okay, this person is fucking weird. Bye.'”
The couple pretended that their ‘mates’ would come in five minutes in the hope that he would leave, but the man’s response left them speechless.
“He said to me, ‘Is someone really coming or are you just trying to get rid of me?'” Tania said.
Then he says, “Okay, girls, are you sure you don’t want to waste your time tonight?”
‘How fucking creepy is that?’
Tania explained that they had to be “really convincing” for the man to leave them alone.
Tania recalled her “scary” experience selling an old TV on Facebook Marketplace to a stranger who seemed to be asking a genuine question.
‘My housemate got quite rowdy and started raising her voice. She says, “I think you should go, buddy, if you’re not interested in buying the TV because we have plans for tonight.” She was stern and assertive,” she said.
“I wasn’t interested in television, I just wanted to do other things, clearly.
“It was super creepy, it was pretty scary, especially because it was cold and dark outside and a random old man comes to your door and keeps trying to ask you to smoke with him and play with him, implying that you would come into your house. So creepy. ‘
Tania said she was “so terrified” after the experience that she deleted everything from Facebook Marketplace and gave the TV to a friend.
He explained that he is speaking out in the hope that no one else has to experience something similar.
“I was so traumatized… I even moved house because I thought I had seen that man’s car outside our house several times afterwards… it really scared me,” she said. 7NEWS.
‘Please never give anyone your address. It is better to meet in public places if people decide to buy or sell from there.
“It’s a scary time, just stay safe.”