A Melbourne woman who allegedly ran an elaborate Facebook Marketplace scam offering designer fashion for sale and defrauding buyers out of thousands of dollars has been refused bail. Alana Petridis was arrested at her home in Donvale in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs on Wednesday over several alleged sophisticated social media scams that police say drew in at least 23 victims nationwide. The Melbourne woman is accused of creating several fake Facebook profiles and posting photos on social media of clothing from renowned Australian fashion labels including Witchery.
Credit: Jessica Hromas Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on Thursday heard Petridis, 37, was facing 25 counts of obtaining property by deception, though police were gathering more accounts from other alleged interstate scam victims. The court heard Petridis had a total of more than 250 criminal charges before the courts, including breaching her bail conditions, a history of repeat offending, and driving under the influence of drugs. Police told the court that Petridis allegedly targeted women on designer buy, swap and sell Facebook pages, using fake profiles and aliases such as “Jess Whealers” to dupe people into transferring money for second-hand items.
Police allege that after her customers purchased items worth thousands of dollars online, Petridis pocketed the money and didn’t send the goods. Investigators believe there are many other alleged victims across Australia who have not yet reported their experience .