63 parents ripped off by a mother who didn't send her items
Recently, a mother of 3, who is pregnant with her fourth child, undermined 63 parents by scamming them via online ad sites. To do this, she put up for sale childcare items that she had collected during her last 3 pregnancies. However, the woman swindled these 63 parents by never sending them a single parcel as agreed. As a result of this scam, the mother of 3 collected a total of €2,425. Despite the 38 charges brought against her, the accused currently appears to feel no remorse for her actions towards her victims.
A common scam via online ad platforms
This online scam, which involves the non-receipt of a parcel following a purchase, is fairly common on second-hand ad sites such as Leboncoin or the Facebook marketplace. In fact, it's not easy to check the reliability of the seller via these ad platforms because, as you probably already know, anyone can create an account pretending to be an honest individual or professional. However, knowing this, we tell ourselves that it can't happen to us, only to others, and we decide to trust them by committing to the transaction.
This is how this mother of 3 managed to defraud 63 parents by abusing their trust through these ad platforms. She was able to pocket €2,425 by receiving money from these transactions, which were intended for childcare items, but deciding never to send the items to the parents. A fairly common case in terms of procedures, but one that remains extremely selfish and unpleasant, according to the prosecutor in charge of the case.
Always the same way of ripping off victims
First of all, 14 scams were collected via Facebook and Leboncoin, which the woman is currently having to respond to. The woman advertised a baby carrier for sale, with prices ranging from €55 to €90, depending on the advert. In this way, the mother of 3 allegedly tricked 63 parents across France in 2018 and 2019, cashing in the money from these online ads and deciding never to send the items to her buyers. The mother always used the same process to scam her victims online.
On the whole, the woman kept the same identity on these online ad platforms, even if she sometimes had to change it to avoid being spotted. What gave her away and enabled the investigators to find and arrest her were her bank details.
A scam that the accused has no regrets about
Some of the victims in this case had joined a forum to discuss the scam and find solutions. One of the victims was Marjorie Delarue, who advised the women not to press charges, as this would get them nowhere. It turned out that this Marjorie was in fact the defendant in the fraud. Despite the 38 charges brought against her, the mother admitted to only one offence. The presiding judge explained that the reality was quite different, as the number of victims was closer to 63.
However, these acts, which could be described as unthinkable and inhumane, are without regret for this mother of a family. In fact, she justified her actions by explaining that she absolutely needed money. The prosecutor replied: "Many mothers are in the same financial situation as you, and you have put them in difficulty too". As far as the victims are concerned, the mother will have to compensate them by paying them €1,261, as well as a 6-month prison sentence and a 24-month probationary suspension with an obligation to work.
How can I avoid being ripped off on classified ad sites?
As you will have realised, this scam, which is not at all complicated and simply consists of not sending the parcel once the buyer has paid, is very common between private individuals. So if you want to continue shopping on the ad platforms without fear of falling into the trap of a scammer every time, all you have to do is use a secure payment method like Obvy. Obvy is the benchmark secure payment method for both private individuals and professionals to avoid being scammed on ad sites.
It's easy to use: you can send a purchase proposal to the seller with their contact details. Obvy guarantees the security of your transaction thanks to its system of sequestering funds in a secure digital safe for the duration of the transaction. This way, you can check that everything is in order when you receive the parcel, and the seller will receive the transaction amount at that time. If the seller tries to rip you off, all you have to do is turn around and you'll get a full refund. A simple and secure payment solution for buying and selling between private individuals.