An Oldham fraudster who conned 28 victims out of more than £3,000 after promising them iPhones and concert tickets has been jailed for eight months.
Lynn Barker, 33, of Copster Hill Road, Oldham, was today sentenced at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court after pleading guilty to 19 counts of fraud with a further nine offences taken into consideration.
Responding to advertisements on Gumtree between November 2011 and May 2013, Barker contacted her victims by text or email telling them she had the tickets or phones available to sell.
Some of her targets were even told tickets were available because Barker had to attend a funeral.
PC Rebecca Gross, from the Volume Fraud Team said, “Barker scoured Gumtree to find her victims and systematically lied to them, claiming she had what they wanted.
“They put their trust in her and transferred their money with the expectation that they would get what they paid for.”
Her tactic was to ask for half of the payment up front by bank transfer after convincing them her claims were sincere by sending photographs of the goods.
After she received payment, she told her victims she would deliver what they had paid for – but this never happened.
PC Gross added: “When Barker contacted her victims, she was very friendly and gave the impression she was desperate to sell her ‘tickets’ due to personal reasons.
“She appeared believable but all along her sole intention was get hold of their hard earned money.
“Many of the transactions made through classified websites on the internet are based on trust, and there will always be an element of risk with this type of transaction.”
PC Gross reminded people bank transfers were not legally covered in the same way as another method of payment such as PayPal or credit card.
She added: “If the transaction goes wrong, you are unlikely to get your money back.”
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