Facebook Marketplace scam costs disabled man £300 he hoped would pay his heating bill during winter cold snap

A disabled man has been scammed out of £300 on Facebook Marketplace after he tried to sell them an old iPhone to pay his heating bill.

Ben Simmonds, a 62-year-old with cerebral palsy from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, was struggling to pay his bills during the January cold snap earlier this year so decided to sell an old iPhone 12 Max he no longer used.

Quickly connecting with a buyer on Facebook Marketplace, Ben shipped the phone via Royal Mail and after checking his app a few days later, he saw the device had been signed for and delivered.

Ben, who is retired, chased up his payment and was sent banking screenshots from the buyer claiming the money was on its way.

However these screenshots appear to have been faked, and he soon realised he had been scammed when he discovered he had been blocked by the account and their messages had been erased.

He has since set up a GoFundMe page to help him recoup his losses – and has urged others in his position to “remain calm” and seek expert advice.

“It hit me hard at first but it’s happening to thousands and thousands of people every day,” Ben told PA Real Life.

“There’s so many dishonest people around and they’re getting cleverer and cleverer.

“This person definitely took advantage of my position.”

Ben, who is single and does not have any children, has suffered with cerebral palsy since birth – and more recently, the condition has affected his mobility.

“It affects my legs quite badly and I have spasticity where my muscles contract and go into spasm,” he explained.

In January this year, Ben said he was struggling to pay his energy bill during the cold snap.

“I have storage heaters where I live and they’re really expensive,” he said.

“I sort of only heat one room – barely that sometimes – and when it was really cold in the first couple of weeks in January I didn’t put it on.”

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To help secure some extra cash, Ben decided to sell his old iPhone 12 Max on Facebook Marketplace, pricing the gadget at around £300 including postage and packaging.

He uploaded the item to the site on January 4 and said he received messages from an interested buyer three days later via Facebook Messenger.

“They were quite impatient, if I didn’t get back to them straight away they would be on the case, that sort of thing,” Ben said.

“I did everything I could to help them, they could tell quality of the phone, they could see I look after my things – I take pride in my things.”

Ben said the buyer told him they wanted to purchase the phone as a gift for their child.

He agreed to send them the phone for £300 on January 16 via Royal Mail tracked special delivery, with an address the buyer supplied.

After checking his Royal Mail app the following day, Ben found the package had been signed for on January 17 along with a photo of several parcels on an inside doormat to show proof of delivery.

Ben asked the buyer when he would be receiving his payment for the phone and he was sent a handful of screenshots showing emails from TSB Bank which seemed to suggest money was on its way.

However the screenshots, seen by PA Real Life, appear to have been doctored – with Ben’s bank details written in a different font and colour to the body of the message and the year at the bottom of the email reads “2024” instead of 2025 in small print.

The message also suggested the payment was on hold by the bank until a tracking number for the package could be provided.

“The screenshots said it was pending and the money would come through,” Ben said.

“I started to get very worried about it… I spoke to a neighbour who said it didn’t look right.”

“I phoned the bank (TSB) and they automatically said it sounded like I had been scammed as this wasn’t their normal process.”

Ben tried to reach out to the buyer but found they had deleted their responses from their conversation on Facebook Messenger and blocked him on the platform.

“I wish I had taken screenshots of our messages before I realised – which I didn’t and not many people would realise – it was probably a false account,” he said.

Ben has since launched a GoFundMe page to recoup his losses, raising £25 so far.

“I didn’t want to ask anyone for help but it would help me get back on track,” he said.

For others in his position, Ben added: “I know it’s difficult as I’ve been through it myself but try to remain calm and get some expert advice.”

Those suspecting they have fallen victim to a scam can approach Action Fraud for support and advice.

When PA contacted Facebook owner Meta for comment, the company outlined several tips to ensure buyers and sellers are staying safe on Facebook Marketplace.

These include checking whether a Facebook profile appears new or incomplete, meeting in a public space to view a product before completing any transaction and not handing over any money until you see the item for sale.

To find out more, visit Ben’s GoFundMe page at: gofundme.com/f/justice-for-ben-scammed-in-effort-to-cover-utility-bills