Forged notes nightmare as mum sells prize phone

Christina Hodgson - forged notes

A MUM is warning Oldhamers to be wary of scammers after being paid £360 in fake notes when selling a mobile phone online.

Childminder Christina Hodgson from Shaw won a new Samsung Galaxy S6 phone on an online bingo site but decided to sell it through online small-ads site Gumtree.

A buyer agreed to collect the phone from the mum-of-four’s home and pay the £360 in cash next day.

“I showed it to him, proved that it worked and he went to his car to get the cash. He paid and left pretty quickly. He seemed like a nice enough guy and I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I stuffed the money into my pocket.”

An hour later a parent paid her for looking after their child and she realised there was something unusual about the notes she had been given for the phone.

Mrs Hodgson (53) said: “I put the notes together to take to the bank and there was obviously something different about the notes from the phone sale. They were much lighter in colour than the real ones, and some of them also had the same serial number.” The family contacted police.

Mrs Hodgson continued: “I’d never had any trouble using the site before so it was a shock when we realised what had happened. The police took photographs of the notes and even took fingerprint samples from everyone who had touched them so they could try to get the prints of the man who gave them to us. I gave them a description and his car registration and they took the notes away -but later I got a letter saying they weren’t going to investigate any further. I was outraged. This person could be scamming other people. He needs to be stopped.”

Mrs Hodgson is also warning people to pay close attention when selling things online and being paid in cash.

She added: “Luckily I didn’t lose any money as I’d won the phone, but other people could lose a lot.

“I’d advise anyone to check the money carefully they receive if they sell something online.”

A spokesman for GMP said, “We investigated the crime to the fullest extent using the information supplied, but the investigation failed to reveal a suspect.”

Gumtree also encouraged its users to be vigilant and to contact them if they encounter any problems using the website.

A spokesman said: “If you’re meeting someone face to face and they’re paying you in cash, take your time. You’re completely within your rights to count your money. Twice if you need, in a well lit place.”