By Helen Velissaris
A Brisbane man will be reunited with his grandmother’s Rolex watch after falling victim to a Gumtree scam.
The man listed the watch on the online listing site for between $4500 and $5000 and mailed it to the interested buyer after being sent a Paypal receipt.
Unbeknown to him, the receipt had been forged and the money never arrived.
The Nigerian scammer had asked the watch to be sent to a Melbourne address before it was moved on, which is where Dandenong police picked up the case.
They were able to track down the intermediary mule and got the watch before anything else happened.
Detective Senior Constable Dean Hedge says most of the time police aren’t able to locate the goods, but because the watch was one of a kind, it made things a bit easier.
“I rang him and the poor bugger broke down, he was emotional over it and we’re just arranging to send it back,” Det Sen Const Hedge said, after contacting the owner of the watch.
He said the man had fallen on hard times and reluctantly decided to sell the sentimental piece.
Detective Hedge is advising anyone listing items online to wait to receive the money first before sending the item because receipts can be easily forged.
