AN online seller says she feels “humiliated" and no longer safe in her own home after a scammer posing as a genuine buyer stole her phone without paying.
Laura May, 35, from Colchester, invited a man to her home in St John’s Road on Friday afternoon after he agreed to purchase her iPhone 13 Pro Max.
The mother-of-three had listed the Apple device, which retails at roughly £1,200, on the buying and selling platform Facebook Marketplace for £850.
After arriving at her property shortly after 4pm, Laura handed the mobile to the scammer in good faith so he could check over the item he would be purchasing.
However, he very quickly started to deploy a series of distraction tactics and before Laura knew it the man had placed her iPhone in his car.
He then proceeded to get behind the wheel of his vehicle while claiming he had already transferred the money to her bank account, even though hadn’t.
Laura, who has sold on Facebook Marketplace before, said: “He pretended to be a genuine buyer but he was very distracting and I didn’t really register.
“I had left my three children in the house alone so I was distracted by that as well - it all happened very quicky, I was only out there for five minutes.
“He got in his car and started driving off but as I checked the banking app the money wasn’t in there, so I chased him into the road.
“He put his window down and said he would turn around but then he just drove off.”
Laura, who has been put off selling any further items online as a result of her ordeal, says she now feels frightened within her own home.
She added: “I felt humiliated, upset and stupid. I suffer from agoraphobia and anxiety as it is but this has made it a lot worse.
“I am too scared in my own home to answer the door as he does know my address. I feel pure hatred and disgust.”
Essex Police have now said they are investigating the incident.
A spokesman said: "We were called to an address in St John's Road in Colchester at about4pm on September 16 following reports of an iPhone being stolen.
"Enquiries are ongoing."
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