In the days before gumtree the same scams happened with IOL and Junkmail classifieds (still do..). I hope that this doesn't become a gumtree- bashing forum. I, for one am happy that there are these free classified sites available, that help me get rid of excess "stuff". The onus is on the seller to make sure he / she doesn't get scammed. I've had the same experiences as most of the folks ranting here - just haven't been caught. Usually 1 out of every 5 respondents to an ad is a scammer - they never phone, but prefer sms's. The bank will always verify if it's a cheque or not. If in doubt, then ask them to verify that the funds are cleared and immediately available. And never, never, never... I repeat: NEVER, hand the articles over until the cash is in hand. I've had one cheque bounce because of insufficient funds and another was deposited which was in fact part of a bunch of cheque books that were lost in a Cash-in-transit robbery. IMHO, I believe that cheques should be outlawed anyway. It's nothing more than an I.O.U.
