Netball scam.

Hi, I have been communicating with this woman about buying my iPhone.

We spoke last week by email and she said she was very interested and we discussed price etc and she wanted to buy it. So she wanted to go through bank transfer and wanted me to post the phone to an address is Galway. I got an email from 'Netbank Money Transactions' yesterday saying my account details have been confirmed and I just need to email through a picture of the receipt from the post office where I registered the letter and the money would go through. So I did same and got a reply saying that the money will clear within 24hours. All emails etc looked legit so I stupidly sent the phone thinking it was all ok. This was around 12:30 yesterday afternoon and I have not gotten any money into my account or have not heard anything from them.

I have emailed the 'Netbank' email address and emailed the woman who I had been speaking to and have heard nothing.

I'm almost certain this is a scam but what should I do?

[AlanJones]

Banks never hold onto money pending someone providing evidence of shipping. If someone sends you money then it will appear in your account.

All you can do is contact the post office and see if it is possible to stop the delivery and also contact the police and provide them with full details.

Please can you also post the email addresses that the "buyer" and the fake Netbank are using as they will be targeting other victims.

Hi and welcome, AmieeL.

There is also a good chance that you can notify Apple (assuming you had it registered in your name) and have it marked as stolen or misplaced so that it can either be retrieved, or never used again. Talk to the Apple CSR's to see what they can do. They are generally real good about that type of thing, but there may be a fee involved.

If you had insurance on the phone you may be able to make a claim, but that is a far stretch for most insurance companies.

You should also report it to your local police and the US Postal Inspector's office if it was sent USPS mail.
https://ribbs.usps.gov/locators/find-is.cfm

Sorry about your loss.