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Exclusive: When a post from a farmer selling free-range eggs popped up in her local Facebook group, it seemed like perfect timing for Brisbane mum Hanna Mouhetta.
Having given birth to her daughter just days earlier, and juggling the demands of a newborn, the promise of delicious fresh farm eggs delivered straight to her door at an eye-catching price seemed like a godsend.
“I thought, ‘Okay, great. I don’t need to get out … that saves me some time,'” Mouhetta said.
The Facebook post from an account going by the name Esther Williams said her farm had “too many” chicken, duck and goose eggs, and so it was “sale time” for anyone who wanted to get in quickly.
Williams claimed she was selling a dozen chicken eggs for $4.50, perhaps a couple of dollars cheaper than supermarkets.
A handful of wholesome photos made the post pop: a flock of chickens walking around in green grass, and beautiful brown eggs stacked in bowls and cartons.
A couple of feel-good emojis were added for good measure.
“If interested just pm (private message) me to make your order,” Williams wrote.
It’s not uncommon for local farmers around the outskirts of Brisbane to post in the group selling their produce, Mouhetta said, “and I normally I try to support the local businesses”.
So she pinged off a direct message, hoping to snap up two dozen eggs.
She got a speedy response from the supposed farmer, who upsold Mouhetta into purchasing the last three dozen of her stock.
PayPal details were exchanged and Williams instructed Mouhetta to make the payment using the “sending to a friend” option – in hindsight, a red flag.
But battling “a little bit of a baby brain”, which clouded her judgement, Mouhetta didn’t give it much thought, so she obliged and transferred $13.50.
And with that, Williams vanished, along with her money.
“The next day I messaged the person and I didn’t hear back,” Mouhetta said.
Further attempts drew a blank.
She logged back into her Facebook group, a kind of virtual town square for residents in suburbs west of Brisbane, but Williams’ egg post had disappeared.
“It’s a little bit shameful because I’m a chartered accountant, and I should know better with that stuff,” Mouhetta said.
But she is certainly not alone.
After a brief search of Facebook, 9news.com.au found the same egg scam in a variety of neighbourhood groups located in the US, Canada and Australia.
When contacted by 9news.com.au, Facebook said it did not want to respond to questions about the egg scam, how the scammers were able to evade the company’s anti-scam systems or why user reports about the account Esther Williams went ignored.
It’s unclear how far and wide the egg scam may have been used on the social media platform, which has an estimated 3 billion monthly active users.
“I think (this scam) is not on anyone’s radar because of the amount people are losing, it’s not a lot,” Mouhetta said.
“But if you imagine on the scale they’re running … it’s not only in Australia, it’s worldwide.
“It probably adds up to quite a significant amount that they’re pocketing.”
Mouhetta remains upset PayPal has chosen not to refund the money.
She also claimed the online payment giant had treated her complaints in a disinterested fashion, including her requests that they investigate and block the scammer’s PayPal account.
A PayPal spokesperson told 9news.com.au it takes customer safety and security very seriously.
“We encourage customers to be mindful when transacting, particularly with someone they don’t know,” the spokesperson added.
“We also recommend ensuring that goods or services transactions are marked clearly as a purchase.”
PayPal’s buyer protection is only available when purchases are made through the “goods and services” feature, not the “friends and family” transfer function.
