A 20-year-old aspiring DJ from Perth was caught in an elaborate Facebook Marketplace scam that sent him on a 200km round trip — only to discover the advertised item never existed and the address used was part of a fraud ploy.
Tejas Manoj, a retail worker, was browsing the online marketplace when he found a DJ deck listed for just $1100 — a steep discount on equipment that usually retails for $2500 to $3000.
Despite sensing it was “too good to be true”, Manoj contacted the seller, who claimed the pickup location was in the Perth CBD. However, he was later instructed to collect the item from a property in Kellerberrin, a remote Wheatbelt town over two hours from the city.
“They told me to come the next day in the morning… they were in Kellerberrin, which was a two and a half hour drive away from me,” he told 7News.
The seller added that if he wished to pay via bank transfer, the payment had to be made before pickup — a request Manoj thankfully declined.
After setting off at 5:30am, Manoj arrived at the property around 8am but received no response from the seller. Approaching the door, he found a note taped to it:
“There’s no marketplace item here, our address has been used as part of a scam.”
The letter revealed the household was regularly targeted in similar scams, with residents having no connection to the online listings.
“I had a very depressing two and a half hour drive back home,” Manoj said. “But at least I still had my $1100.”
He acknowledged the situation could have been worse. “My friend thought I was going to get jumped by a bunch of guys outside the address and they’re just going to take my money.”
The dodgy ad for the DJ deck remains online, with the image also found on another site — a common tactic used in online scams.
Authorities are urging Marketplace users to be cautious, especially with high-value items like electronics. Potential buyers are advised never to transfer money before seeing an item, meet sellers in person, and avoid paying deposits for unverified listings.
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