Marketplace Scams Very Real in NZ

We've been sucked in. We know a few people that have been sucked in too, losing thousands of dollars.

What we've seen is a couple of slightly different situations on Marketplace;

Items listed under a fake profile and the items are usually images copied from the internet. Sometimes the photos are obviously not taken in NZ and there are only one or two images. This is used a lot for trailers and accessories.
Item is real but listed under a fake profile and sold multiple times or multiple deposits are excepted and the goods do not arrive.

In our experience, the seller had good communication and the profile seemed quite legitimate. There was discussion of the item getting a lot of interest and the seller did not want to 'hold' the item unless a deposit was given. Deposit was supplied, item was deleted and seller disappeared. The bank account belonged to someone in Christchurch. Unfortunately the bank refused to give any information and the police just filed a report.

In all instances we have heard of, the profile owners are New Zealanders. Good way to top up the benefit maybe..?

Unlike Trade Me, Marketplace doesn't offer much in the way of verification of a person. Although Trade Me is expensive to list items, there address verification and feedback system is at least a little bit to go on.

Have you been done over by someone on Marketplace. Let us know. Give us your tips to help others.