'I got scammed by a heartless mum with a pram on Facebook'

“Parents need to know there’s other ways that scams can happen. Even without sending money."

Lauren Robinson

@L_Robinson96

3 min read

May 13, 2025 - 11:17AM

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Buying and selling items on Facebook can often feel like a game of luck.

Sydney mum Jaime Lee joined a local pay it forward Facebook group to try to help ease the cost of living burden.

But when she clicked on an ad offering a free pram, she didn't realise she was stepping into a scammer's trap.

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"She said that people kept ghosting her"

The mum of two had been needing a new pram for a while, so when she saw a post offering one for free she jumped at the opportunity.

“By the time I went to comment ‘may I please pick it up tomorrow’ there had already been almost 10 other comments,” she told Kidspot.

Jaime figured she'd commented too late, but to her surprise the seller reached out to her.

“She messaged me the next day seeing if I still wanted the pram. Of course I said yes."

Initially, she was cautious.

“I questioned her. Did no one else want the pram? She replied that people kept ghosting her,” she explained.

Nothing screamed a red flag, so Jaime began to arrange picking up the pram.

Jaime questioned why nobody else had wanted the pram. Image: Supplied

"The vibes and area seemed sketchy"

“She seemed like a good person trying to do something nice,” Jaime admitted.

They began to communicate and arrange pick up.

“She didn’t give me the address until I was about to leave. I just knew what suburb I was going to. She knew I had a fair drive to get to her with my two younger kids in the car, but I didn’t mind at the time as my one year old needed a good functional pram,” she explained.

Once she got there, the facade began to crack.

“Upon arriving there I felt uncomfortable. Just the vibes and area seemed sketchy,” she explained.

While her partner waited in the car with her already fussy kids, Jaime got out of the car to meet with the seller.

“The girl told me to message her once I had arrived and that’s what I did. She told me five minutes and she would be down,” Jaime recalled.

Five minutes passed and still no one had come to meet with her.

“She didn’t answer when I tried calling her,” Jaime complained.

“It was cold. I was just standing outside waiting for her to whole time while my partner attended to our crying kid.”

Jaime was let waiting half an hour before giving up and leaving empty handed. Image: Supplied.

"Scams can happen. Even without sending money"

Finally Jaime got a message from the seller. 30 minutes later.

“She replied and said ‘I can’t see you I’m going back inside’ even with me following all her directions,” the mother said.

She was forced to return home empty handed without the pram she had been promised.

Jaime believes it's hard to fathom why someone would waste her time so carelessly.

“I myself have sold and picked stuff up on Facebook before… I would do everything in my power to communicate better and try to find the person. Not just give up so easily or mislead them. Especially mother to mother,” Jaime said.

“I think this was all a game to her. Just to have a little laugh. She probably likes to waste people’s time.”

Jaime shared the experience to the page the pram was initially posted on to prevent others experiencing the same false hope.

“Other parents need to know that there’s other ways that scams can happen. Even without sending money,” Jaime warned.

“This girl never asked for any payment which made it even more believable. This was the first time I have ever experienced this and it’s just a lesson learned on my end. Sometimes if something seems too good to be true than it probably is.”

Kidspot was unable to contact the seller as the ad has since been removed from Facebook.