Rare and pricey plant fans fleeced

Thieves have branched out into the craze for pricey houseplants, with dozens of people collectively scammed out of thousands in a social media plant sale sting.

Rachel Reid is one of 27 people who were scammed out of more than $3000 in total by aHamilton woman after she sent money for a plant that never came.

In her case, she purchased a cutting of a plant from the woman through a social media group and sent her $175 at the end of May for the cutting.

But the promised plant deal never sprouted.

The woman came up with excuse after excuse as to why the plantwasn’t being sent, and then sent her a parcel tracking number, but the plant never arrived, Reid said.

The same fake tracking number was given to multiple people, she later discovered, after they voiced their concerns about the long wait in the socialmedia group.

Reid said people had either sent the woman money for plants, which they never received, or sent plants on the premise of a swap but never got what they were swapping for.

The woman claimed to be from Hawke’s Bay and said she had been in the houseplant scene for almost a year. She was part of a few groups on social media where people traded plants.

‘‘That’s how a lot of people buy houseplants, a lot of the rare plants aren’t available commercially.’’

The group had kept track of the woman, even though she kept making new fake profiles, and they believed she scammed someone as recently as last week.

Most of them had made police complaints.

Through lockdown, Reid said people’s interest in houseplants had soared and now some species were worth triple what they originally were.

‘‘They are worth thousands, instead of a few hundred.

‘‘One of the girls swapped a cutting [which is] now worth $1500 but back then it was worth $400.

‘‘Now that the plant prices have sky-rocketed, there seems to be a lot more scams.’’

Reid said the main plant targeted in the scam was string of turtles but she was trying to buy a melanochrysum cutting.

Houseplant sales have jumped 213 per cent in the last year, Trade Me spokeswoman Ruby Topzand said.

The most expensive houseplant ever sold on Trade Me was a variegatedminima which sold for $8150 in August. Since 2015, indoor plant sales had grown by 2543 per cent onsite.

‘‘Now that the plant prices have skyrocketed, there seems to be a lot more scams.’’

Rachel Reid