The gutted victims of the swindle have issued a warning after they were conned out of hundreds of pounds after advertising the consoles on Facebook Marketplace.
Police have launched a probe after a number of fake bank note scammers paid for PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles with counterfeit cash.
The gutted victims of the swindle have issued a warning after they were conned out of hundreds of pounds after advertising the goods on Facebook Marketplace. It comes after a number of similar incidents were reported across the central belt in the last week.
Beth Parker, 29, had advertised her Xbox Series S on the social media platform when she received a message from man, who agreed to pay £195 for the console. Beth, from Glasgow, agreed to meet the man outside an address on Ashgill Road in Milton.
However, after she returned home she noticed the notes were fake. The community development worker said: “I gave the fake notes into the police when it happened, but they were just £10 notes that were hard to notice at first, but they were blurry at the back and had no brail.
“He has since tried to resell my Xbox but he’s blocked me and blocked a few people that’s messaged him. I’m gutted, especially right after Christmas when £200 could have helped out a little.
“I’ve never had any issues selling on Marketplace and also thoroughly check pages and can usually tell when someone messages you if they are a scammer. He was fairly polite enough, young boy maybe 19 or early 20s. It just shows you how easy it is to get scammed with fake money.”
Another incident took place in Airdrie on Sunday, January 10, when Muhammad Saad Hamid was contacted by a man on Facebook. The pair agreed to a £400 sale for the PlayStation 5 and the man arrived at Muhammad’s home around an hour later.
He handed over the games console, but around 10 minutes later he realised the notes were fake – by which point the crook had fled. After Muhammad messaged the page to inform him, the callous yob replied, ‘As long as the PS5 is real, we are all good bud’ and then blocked him.
Speaking to the Record, the 36-year-old software engineer said: “I had purchased it about a month earlier, but I felt I was spending too much time on it and decided to sell it rather than waste time. I received a message from a person, who is living in Cambuslang. He agreed to this price and said he would come that same night to collect it.
“We met outside my home, and my wife was present with me when we handed over the PlayStation 5 to him. He counted £400 in cash and gave it to us. We then went back inside and that’s when we realised that the banknotes were counterfeit.
“All the notes had the same serial number, and one side of each note appeared dull. We immediately went back outside to look for him, but he had already left.
“I reported the incident to the police and handed over the counterfeit notes. It feels very disappointing as this is hard-earned money, and seeing it go to waste in this way is truly heartbreaking.”
A third incident happened in Kirkcaldy last week when a woman who was advertising a brand new PS5 on Facebook Marketplace was handed over £280 in fake notes. Police have confirmed they have received a report of counterfeit notes being used and their enquiries remain ongoing.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On the evening of Tuesday, January 13, police received a report of counterfeit notes being used in the Ashgill Road area of Glasgow. Enquiries were carried out and any new information will be assessed.”
The spokesperson added: “On Sunday, January 10, police received a report of counterfeit notes being used in the Lady Wilson Street area of Airdrie. Enquiries into the matter remain ongoing.”
For more information from the force on how to avoid being scammed, click here.
