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A recent report has concluded that the once dominant second hand marketplace of gumtree has been devastated by the rise of facebook marketplace, rendering it to nothing more than a playground for scammers to roll unsuspecting baby boomers.
Much like the way a koala munches on the leaves of the tree the site was named after, scammers are able to munch on easy to trick baby boomers with ease on the once popular site.
Gumtree, which was once the go to spot for anyone selling something second hand , has taken a huge blow in recent years as anyone born after 1964 migrated over to facebook marketplace.
The site is now reportedly a magnet for scammers from all corners of the globe as baby boomers simply can’t help but be scammed everyday on the website.
“It’s an amazing place to scam people on, the level of internet illiteracy is nothing we’ve ever seen before, these boomers are practically handing their money to us” Said Kelechi Chukwuebuka (34) from his office in Lagos, Nigeria.
Somehow, many boomers are sending off their prized goods to far flung destinations in the promise that their paypal money will land any day now.
Barry Wiseman (69) was one of many victims of the seemingly obvious scam, for the third time this year.
“Mate the bloke told me he needed to use paypal because he was too busy to come by and that I needed to send this $3000 camera lens to an address overseas because It was a gift to his cousin, he said he’d even pay me extra for the postage, what am I supposed to think? I mean, he even sent me a screenshot of the money being sent, you can’t fake that!” Barry explained.
Experts have explained that due to the migration of younger people that can spot a scam, scammers have flooded the site. Some have speculated that scammers may even out number genuine users.
When asked why Barry doesn’t just also use facebook marketplace seeing as his demographic is now one of facebook’s biggest, he says he doesn’t trust it.
“Mate, it could be anyone on the other side, I don’t trust Zuckerberg and you know how I feel about change, I don’t like it, Gumtree has served me well over the years.”
