Edi third year scammed of £500 on Facebook Marketplace

Laptops are pretty much essential for most uni students, so when yours breaks, the task of finding a replacement is an urgent one.

This is what happened to third year Maths student Julian Douglas a few weeks ago. The logic board on his laptop from 2011 was broken and staff at the Apple Store told him as it was so old, it was impossible to repair so he'd need to buy a new one.

The sequence of events that followed turned a relatively minor inconvenience into a financial nightmare in which he was scammed of £500.

Telling the story, Julian said: "The next day (after finding out he needed to buy a new laptop), I was looking for secondhand ones on the internet and I found a guy on Facebook Marketplace so I messaged him.

The laptop that never arrived

"He replied saying that he would knock off £100 if I bought it that day .This is when alarm bells should have been ringng.

"We exchanged details, I gave him a call and he reassured me that he wouldn't scam me as he sent me a pic of his passport, proof of purchase and his bank details. I sent him £500 and then he simply didn't send the laptop.

"I rang him up and he said he'd sent it but he was being a bit shady. A week later after going to the police I rang him off two different phones but no calls went through – he'd obviously got himself a new number.

"I messaged him on Facebook telling him that I'd gone to the police and all he replied was a simple 'thumbs up'."

Here's what Julian thought of the 'thumbs up'

The whole ordeal left him feeling understandably "stressed out and cheated."

A couple of weeks later, Julian eventually bought himself a new laptop but he offers a stark warning to anyone buying things secondhand online.

He said: "Moral of the story: don't trust strangers, pay through paypal or some method which allows you to get money back."

He also plans on writing to Facebook, arguing that they should make people use a more secure method of paying.

Commenting on Julian's ordeal, a Police Scotland spokesman told The Tab: "Police in Edinburgh are investigating a report of fraud following a transaction on a social media retail site. Inquiries are ongoing.

They also gave advice to people using sites like Facebook to buy things secondhand, saying: "Members of the public purchasing items online are advised to do so using reputable sites and to never provide bank details or transfer cash to an individual unless you are entirely certain of their authenticity.

"A range of useful advice on staying safe online can be found on our website."