(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)
March 03, 2025 - 9:30 AM
A man and a woman were scammed out of hundreds of dollars worth of electronics in the Shuswap when they tried to sell them online.
The sellers from Facebook Marketplace agreed to meet a buyer to sell them a laptop for $1,250 in one incident and a cellphone for $760 in the other, and each time the seller handed over the item before getting the money, according to a press release from RCMP.
The buyer has been described as a man who is 40 to 50 years old, 5’10” tall and has an average build with hand and neck tattoos.
In the first incident the seller agreed to pick up the buyer in Tappen and drove him to a local bank on Feb. 9. The seller gave the scammer the phone and he went inside to grab cash, but never came out and couldn’t be found.
In the second case the seller met the buyer in a public place in Tappen on Feb. 23. The buyer convinced the seller he had sent an e-transfer for $1,250 for the laptop. The seller let the buyer leave with the laptop but the e-transfer never arrived and again the buyer couldn’t be found.
Police advise people to be extra cautious when using online marketplace platforms. RCMP advise to meet in a public place, use cash, and make sure to get all the money before handing anything over.
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