Online marketplace site Gumtree has warned shoppers to take notice and guard against the latest scam that has come to their attention.
The site's management warned that fraudsters use 'spoof' sites, resembling Gumtree's online presence, to trick people into paying large sums of money for products that do not exist.
Gumtree said the scam originated in the UK and came to their attention earlier this week.
Scammers obtain contact details from classified ads on the site and contact unsuspecting sellers via WhatsApp or text message.
They then tell the person that posted the advert a direct payment has been made via Gumtree's shipping and delivery service, and provide them with website details where they can enter their banking details to receive the payment.
However, Gumtree does not provide such a service.
Customer service supervisor for Gumtree SA, Louis Bosman, said instances of the scam have been reported locally over the last 48 hours.
"Gumtree does not currently offer a delivery service of any kind. While these types of scams are very convincing, note that an official Gumtree page will contain gumtree.co.za in the URL and https:// at the beginning.
"Gumtree will never ask you for your credit card details over the phone, or via WhatsApp or text message," Bosman said.
He urged all customers to report suspicious buyers to the Gumtree help desk at help.gumtree.co.za
