Gold Coast beauty salon owner loses $2500 Louis Vuitton handbag in scam

A 24-year-old Gold Coast woman says she is devastated after the sale of her $2500 designer handbag went horribly wrong. READ HER WARNING

A Gold Coast beauty salon owner who says she lost her designer handbag in a Facebook Marketplace scam has issued a warning for others.

The woman, who asked not to be named but is known to the Bulletin, said she was left devastated after the sale of her $2500 Louis Vuitton handbag went horribly wrong.

The 24-year-old said she had advertised the bag for sale on Facebook Marketplace and was approached by what she thought was a potential buyer.

She had arranged to meet the woman’s partner in Bundall to hand over the bag in exchange for money about 3pm Thursday.

“The guy rocked up and handed me fake money and grabbed my bag,” she said.

“I knew it was fake straight away and spoke up.

“But he kept walking straight to his car ... and he quickly got in the car and drove off.”

The Louis Vuitton handbag that was allegedly taken. Picture: supplied

The beauty boss said she took video footage of the man as he drove off and reported the incident to police.

A police spokeswoman said they had received a report about the alleged incident and were investigating.

The 24-year-old described the alleged offender as “tatted head to toe”, wearing a black hat, black with red and white basketball jersey, shorts, a gold chain and sunglasses.

“Financially I’m impacted, emotionally I’m struggling to comprehend what happened and how quick it all happened,” she said.

The fake money the woman said she was given. Picture: supplied

The 24-year-old warned others to “be careful” when using Facebook Marketplace and “trust your gut if it doesn’t feel right”.

“I had a gut feeling and brought my friend down with me to meet the buyer and unfortunately it wasn’t enough to stop what happened,” she said.

“If selling something, meet in a public place with cameras if possible.

“Be wary. This is happening more and more online.”