Facebook scammers target Northampton with tempting offer to sell items on eBay

People in Northampton are targets for an online Facebook scam to sell stolen goods.

Police have been alerted to to tricksters recruiting people via Facebook and asking them to sell items on eBay for a share in the profit.

But a Special Operations Unit is investigating multiple incidents of the con trying to entice people from Eastern European communities.

Messages usually written in Polish, Latvian, or Lithuanian promise the targets they will earn money.

But they are actually selling stolen goods and, when discovered, the victims receive chargebacks leaving them in substantial debt and at risk of prosecution for fraud and money laundering.

A number of the reports of the scam have been linked to people living in the eastern region, including Luton, Bedford and Northampton.

Bedfordshire Police fraud investigator, Tal Stein, said: “We’re asking people to be aware of this scam and not to sell items through their eBay accounts or make payments / receive funds through their PayPal accounts as a result of responding to online posts.

"The scammer seems to be targeting certain Eastern European communities with the posts being written in the native languages.

“Please remember that if something seems too good to be true – such as the possibility of earning quick money from home - then it probably is.”

“If you believe that a post on Facebook may be a scam, please report it to the social network using the report button. If you think you may have been affected by this scam, or a similar one, please call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit their website."