Young woman's 'creepy' experience after getting backpacker job
A backpacker has detailed a creepy ordeal to warn others to be vigilant when accepting jobs through Gumtree.
The young woman, from Germany, wrote on Facebook she had posted an ad searching for a job and received a message from a man who offered her a position on a farm in South Australia.
“He told me that he [had] a farm with horses in South Australia... and I could work there as an all-rounder,” she said in a post.
It all sounded too good to be true, with horses running around and beautiful scenery – and unfortunately it was.
“I should’ve known better,” the woman said.
She travelled down from Cairns, in Far North Queensland, to South Australia where the “farmer”, aged about 60, and his German girlfriend, in her 30s, picked her up.
She claimed the farmer told her the farm was in Aldinga Beach, about a 50-minute drive from Adelaide.
“But when we drove to the farm suddenly he talked about a four-hour drive and I thought, ‘OK, well, maybe he just forgot to tell me something’,” she said.
Things took a sleazy turn when they finally arrived at their destination, which was nowhere near Aldinga Beach.
“The first day was then really creepy because his girlfriend from Germany was at work and I was alone with him and he told me stories about other girls, which were on the farm with him before me,” the backpacker said.
“He spoke about a hippie who wanted to have a threesome with him and about another girl he had something with.
“He always made these sexual allusions and asked how many boyfriends I had and if I also had something with girls and such creepy stuff.
“And he always said to me, ‘Why don’t you want to stay for a second year, you could stay here with me and my girlfriend’... I said from the beginning I would stay for about three months if I really liked the job.”
The backpacker says she was misled about what the job would entail, and only worked with the horses when she fed them morning and night.
“He just wanted me to stay there as a second wife or I don’t know,” she said.
“I shouldn’t actually tell anybody (he said that to me about three times).
“I just wanted to warn you about this guy. Please be careful when somebody you don’t know comes to you with a so-called job. I had to learn the hard way. Please stay safe.”
Many commented on the post saying the same thing happened to them after accepting jobs on Gumtree.
“Same with me on Gumtree. F***ing creepy people, be careful girls,” one warned.
Another woman said she was in contact with the same man.
“But as soon as I asked if my friend could come with me to meet up... he didn’t want me to come anymore,” the woman claimed.
“He made weird comments and that’s why I didn’t want to go alone for the meeting to see if there was a connection.”
The backpacker replied the woman was lucky she never met him.
A Gumtree spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia in a statement the safety and security of the community was its number one priority.
“While the majority of our community members have a positive experience, sometimes bad seeds do target our users,” the statement said.
“We recommend backpackers seeking work to do their due diligence, such as asking for previous employee references and if all advertised work is authorised, and within the confines of the law.”
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.
