Caravanners warned against buying online

Touring caravan insurance customers in East Riding, Yorkshire, have been warned to approach online sales with extreme caution by the police, after a local woman was conned out of £4,000 when attempting to buy a caravan from eBay.

Having seen a caravan for sale on the website, a 63-year-old woman made an enquiry and then made contact with a view to purchasing. After transferring the money to the eBay account of the 'company' it was stated the transaction couldn't take place.

Following this, she was instructed to transfer the funds into another account and upon doing so she was sent an email stating the money had been received but no caravan has been forthcoming.

Detective sergeant Mark Ormiston of Beverley CID said: "This woman appears to have been the victim of a fairly sophisticated and professional scam. We believe the money has been transferred to an account in Europe, possibly Spain."

Last month, the Guardian writer Margaret Dibben claimed she lost £935 from a PayPal fraudster when trying to sell her caravan online.