A man who stole four e-scooters off a footpath and spray-painted them black managed to sell them as ex-rentals on Facebook Marketplace.

Now police are warning the public to “do their homework” before buying products off Facebook after a victim was scammed out of $1000.

Palmerston North Constable Catherine Barham said police were alerted to the incident on Monday after the man who bought the scooters called into the police station.

He had travelled from Tauranga to Ōtaki and paid cash for the four scooters. He had bought them for his children.

But on the way home he started to doubt their legitimacy, Barham said.

“The victim, who came a long way, came to the cop shop,” she said.

“He said he got four e-scooters but he doesn’t think they’re legit … They were beeping.”

The man who stole the scooters didn’t have them in his possession when he created the online listing, and police believed he grabbed them afterwards on Sunday.

“He’s just picked them up off the street and chucked them on the back of his ute.”

The name of the company, Beam, could still be seen, but the offender had covered the entire scooters with black spray paint. He had stolen them from Porirua.

Barham said the man used false details to create the listing, and tracing him would be difficult.

Any chances of recovering the victim’s $1000 were slim, she said.

Police were working to identify the offender, but Barham said it was a reminder for the public to know there were risks when buying items via Facebook.

“Don’t buy off Facebook Marketplace – it’s full of scammers. And do your homework first before you purchase them.

“We’re getting so many fraud cases coming through … The files are piling up.”

Beam was due to collect the scooters on Tuesday and would be helping with the investigation, she said.

According to Netsafe​, buy-and-sell pages and groups on Facebook were not moderated by the site, and there was “a greater risk” in using them.

It said there were online platforms, such as Trade Me, that were set up specifically for trading and had measures to protect buyers and sellers.

This included features such as the ability to leave feedback about a buyer or seller, and to make a complaint if the trade did not go ahead as planned.

It said when buying goods online people should withhold money until they had inspected the items in person.

A Beam spokesperson said the theft of shared e-scooters was rare.

“Shared e-scooters feature anti-theft/anti-vandalism technologies to prevent incidents from occurring. Should they occur, we utilise GPS tracking and other methods and work closely with the police to identify the culprit.

“If anyone is dealing with an individual purporting to sell an ex-rental Beam e-scooter, we recommend they ask the seller for proof of original purchase from Beam and check the e-scooter is fully functional prior to purchase.

“For safety purposes, we also highly recommend ensuring the e-scooter is being supplied alongside a charger” from the original manufacturer, the spokesperson said.

Fallen victim to a Facebook Marketplace scam?

1. Stop all contact with the scammer: Once you realise you are being scammed, do not continue the communication and block the scammer from contacting you.

2. Do not make any more payments: Some scammers target people caught in recent scams – for example, by pretending to be an enforcement agency that can return all your money for a fee. Do not give money to anyone promising they will get your lost money back.

3. Contact the bank or service you sent money through: If you are the victim of a financial scam, credit card scam or identity theft, contact your bank immediately. The sooner your bank knows about it, the greater the likelihood of getting the money back.

4. Report the scam: If you have lost money, you should report the scam to police and complete the instructions on Facebook so that others do not fall victim to the same scam. You can report scams on Facebook Marketplace.