In the online world it’s increasingly necessary not to take for granted the words of a complete stranger – especially those of an online seller with goods to flog. 

But what about when you are the seller? 

Carla Francome, from London, found herself caught up in a scam, but the buyer’s suspicious language and a PayPay email gave her thankful pause for thought. 

The TV producer and avid cyclist had decided to list her prized blue Bobbin Kingfisher bike on Facebook Marketplace earlier this month.

In a series of tweets and screenshots uploaded to her account, @carlafrancome, on X, formerly Twitter, Carla detailed her brush with a fraudster on the social platform’s Buy & Sell feature.

TV producer and avid rider Carla Francome, from London, had decided to list her prized blue Bobbin Kingfisher bike for sale on Facebook Marketplace earlier this month

The £500 Kingfisher had been given as Christmas gift from her parents, but Francome chose to sell the the bike for £300 on Facebook Marketplace 

The Kingfisher had been given as Christmas gift from her parents in 2022, but Francome chose to sell the the bike as she ‘needed something with more gears.’ 

After opting to sell the bicycle Facebook Marketplace – which allows sellers to list 150 items per day – for £300, Francome soon received a message from a keen potential buyer.

The seemingly genuine shopper, named Sunday Chukwudubem on the platform, asked about the availability and condition of the bike, to which Carla responded with honest specifications. 

However, the mannerly exchange quickly turned tense as the buyer insisted on paying for the bike without inspecting it in person. 

Sunday claimed that he was ‘out of town’ and that his wife had planned to pick up the bike from Carla’s location in London, before beginning to pressure the TV producer into accepting a PayPal payment. 

Francome, apprehensive, responded: ‘There’s no rush paying me – check she likes it – I won’t sell it to anyone else.’

But Sunday claimed that he may be ‘busy’ at a later date and that his wife may not have access to his card at that point, and so Carla proceeded with the transaction between the pair.

Carla went on to give the buyer her e-mail and PayPal username, to which Sunday responded the following morning claiming that he had paid the money, and asked her if she had received the funds.

After opting to sell the expensive bicycle Facebook Marketplace – which allows sellers to list 150 items per day – for £300, Francome soon received a message from a keen potential buyer

Aseemingly genuine shopper, named Sunday Chukwudubem on the platform, asked about the availability and condition of the bike, to which Carla responded with honest specifications

However, the mannerly exchange quickly turned tense as the buyer insisted on paying for the bike without inspecting it in person

Carla went on to give the buyer her e-mail and PayPal username, to which Sunday responded the following morning claiming that he had paid the money, and asked her if she had received the funds

Sunday claimed that he had sent an extra £200 as it was his responsibility as a buyer to ‘upgrade’ Carla’s account into becoming a business one for the total amount to be released

The cycling enthusiast reported how Sunday ‘kept rushing’ her by sending multiple messages and asking: ‘Are you there?’ 

After checking her account, Carla noticed she did not receive any money – instead, she had received a ‘strange’ e-mail from PayPal, in which it was claimed that she had to ‘top up’ her account with a further £200 in order to release the £300 sent by the buyer.   

Another confusing e-mail from ‘PayPal’ had been sent to Carla which claimed that the buyer was to send the extra £200 to her account, but that she must refund the money back to Sunday’s account once the full £500 had been paid.

Forwarding the e-mail to Sunday on Facebook, the buyer began to pressure Francome into ‘following the steps and instructions given by Paypal.’

He then further claimed that he had sent the £200 as it was his responsibility as a buyer to ‘upgrade’ Carla’s account into becoming a business one for the total amount to be released. 

Asking Carla if he ‘could trust’ her into refunding the money back, the producer quickly realised that she was being scammed, and called the fraudster out over his actions. 

Sunday appeared to respond in a frantic manner, sending a barrage of messages in which he claimed to ‘work hard for money’ and that he could ‘never scam’ her. 

The final, almost robotic message sent by the fraudster read: ‘As soon as you refund back the £200 too them you will get a total amount of £500 immediately in your account. Are you working on it now?’

After checking her account, Carla noticed she did not receive any money – instead, she had received a ‘strange’ e-mail from PayPal, in which it was claimed that she had to ‘top up’ her with a further £200 in order to release the £300 sent by the buyer

Another confusing e-mail from ‘PayPal’ had been sent to Carla which claimed that the buyer was to send the extra £200 to her account, but that she must refund the money back to Sunday’s account

Asking Carla if he ‘could trust’ her into refunding the money back, while telling the producer to ‘follow the steps and instructions given by Paypal,’ she quickly realised that she was being scammed, and called the fraudster out over his actions

Carla ceased responding the scammer, and now the wary cyclist has warned other potential sellers to remain vigilant and pay attention to small details during online transactions, as pleasant and convincing as a buyer may seem. 

She said in a tweet: ‘I can see why people fall for this … so please spread the word about how these scams happen. I can imagine people not used to selling online could easily get rushed into it.’

Carla added: ‘Also, I’m still selling my lovely Bobbin bike if anyone would like more info. It’s a lovely bike. Cash on bike inspection only.’

MailOnline contacted both Carla and Facebook for further comments relating to her experience. 

In September, it was reported how another woman revealed how hackers took over her Facebook account when she clicked on used car advert – before her photos and details were used to scam others out of thousands of pounds on Marketplace.

Ellie White Turner, 20, said that fraudsters used her profile to legitimise their attempts to extract thousands of pounds from unwilling victims and locking her out of treasured memories.