Out on a limb: Four of the five backpackers who arrived Sunday evening to Bridgetown to find they had been scammed. They did not want their names published.
MORE backpackers fell victim to an internet scam involving work and accommodation advertised on Gumtree last week.
Some backpackers were forced to sleep in the park after turning up to Bridgetown last Friday, Sunday and Monday.
The Donnybrook-Bridgetown Mail spoke to five backpackers who arrived on a bus from Bunbury on the Sunday, only to find they had been duped and there was no accommodation and work waiting for them.
Two backpackers, an American and a South Korean, said they had paid into the account of a Mr Lahti hundreds of dollars to secure two weeks of accommodation and farm hand work on his fictitious farm.
Like the other backpackers, they arrived at the same Forrest Street address in Bridgetown to find they had been scammed.
The ones who arrived on the Sunday found themselves stranded with nowhere to go.
A Forrest Street resident called the police, however as Bridgetown Police were off-duty no one could assist.
It was evening and with limited budgets, the backpackers could not afford the only accommodation available.
The resident drove them to the Bridgetown Caravan Park but there were no vacancies.
The backpackers slept in River Park by the Blackwood River. One of them pitched a tent.
Police Operations in Perth suggested they should provide statements to Bridgetown Police in the morning.
The next day the backpackers decided to head to Donnybrook in the hope they could find some work in Donny brook's orchards and affordable accommodation.
Two backpackers who had met each other in Brisbane were lured from Sydney by the advertisement on Gumtree.
A Spanish backpacker travelled from Indonesia, and the other two from Perth.
None wanted their names published.
The Spanish backpacker said he could not believe the advertisement was a fake.
"It was not your usual hotch potch messy advertisement that you can see through. It was very professional, and very well written with lots of what appeared legitimate information," he said.
The American backpacker, an English teacher, agreed.
"I called the phone number but it was engaged. So I emailed and the responses were detailed and literate. I fell for it."
Not all the backpackers are reporting the scams to police, believing they will not recover their money.
Scams are on the increase and the scamsters, mostly from overseas, are moving from em ail scamming to posting on reputable sites and increasing their cha nces of duping the unsu specting.
WA Police warn that cybercrime is huge.
People should scrutinise advertisers, and when in doubt either not deposit any money, or contact the Department of Consumer Affairs.
The five backpackers thanked the Forrest Street resident for assisting them.
He has had nine backpackers arrive during the past 10 days.