PayID Facebook marketplace scam exposed as mum says she was targeted selling teen’s clothes

A banking manager has lifted the lid on an emerging scam that she almost fell victim to after she was contacted ‘within seconds’ by a scammer when she tried to sell items on Facebook Marketplace.

Teonë Axougas, a senior lending manager with ANZ, shared her conversations with a person who tried to hustle her via a PayID scam.

Axougas said she had decided to sell her teenager’s unwanted clothing but was left feeling ‘frazzled’ when she was instantly messaged after listing the items on Facebook Marketplace.

Axougas told 9News that when she was first sent an automatic message that read ‘is this available?’ she wasn’t overly concerned – but then the profile started asking about using PayID for payment.

Axougas said that when she was first sent an automatic message that read ‘is this available?’ she wasn’t overly concerned – but then the profile started asking about using PayID for payment (pictured: conversations between Axougas and the scammer)

‘I had never come across someone requesting PayID before, and I’ve been in banking for 19 years,’ Axougas said.

‘She (the scammer) said I had to send her $500 back to “lift the limit”. It didn’t quite make sense to me,’ she said.

‘Frazzled and distracted, I rang one of my colleagues and he said “this is a scam”.’

After Axougas confronted the alleged scammer they never responded and she now believes the Facebook profile was fake.

The scammer said PayID can be easily set up and then after initially believing the sale was legitimate, the scammer messaged that he is out $100 now and she would need to deposit $500 to release the funds. 

‘You have to send back 500 and then we will email PayID with screenshot as proof of refund so they can credit you with the total of 600 and credit me with the 500 refund afterwards,’ the scammer messaged.

During the ordeal the scammer also belittled Axougas saying, ‘I don’t think you can read and understand’.

Feeling pressured by the constant tirade of messages Axougas rang her colleague just in time, realising she was being scammed. 

PayID is a method of payment banks use for money transfers that allow users to supply just a mobile number, email address, ABN or Organisation Identifier for quick payments. 

The PayID scam has become a popular tool in recent months with NAB warning of the scam at the end of February.

The scammer was persistent in trying to get Axougas to deposit $500 into his account to release the funds

The PayID scam has become a popular tool in recent months with NAB warning of the scam at the end of February. Data from Scamwatch shows Australians lost $260,000 to the PayID scam last year

‘PayID impersonation scams often target people selling items on second-hand websites,’ NAB Executive Group Executive and Fraud Chris Sheehan said.

‘The scammer will push to buy your item using PayID but then claim the transaction couldn’t be completed because you don’t have a PayID ‘business’ account.

‘They’ll claim they’ve sent extra money to upgrade the account, send you a fake email as evidence and pressure you to reimburse them. But no money will ever appear in your account.’

The scammer often says they will pay by PayID now so their child, partner or relative can collect the goods without needing to pay. 

Data from Scamwatch shows Australians lost $260,000 to the PayID scam last year.

Axougas said she wanted to share her story as a warning for others who are looking to sell goods online.

‘There are so many people who are vulnerable, or don’t have a support network,’ she said.

‘I thought, “if this is the first time for me, what if no one else has had the experience”, as I’ve been on Facebook Marketplace for so long now and this has never happened.’