A CARER was left distraught after she realised a conman had tricked her out of her £900 camera.

But she was dumbfounded when, after she told Royal Mail that she had been conned, it insisted on sending the camera to the scammer anyway.

Earlier this month Dominique Hunter, 22, was excited that her first online seller’s account with internet giant Amazon had attracted the interest of potential buyers.

‘I received emails from a few people wanting to know more about the camera,’ she said.

‘Then I received an email [apparently] from Amazon saying one woman whom I had been in contact with had bought it and I needed to send it right away.’

The person who ordered the camera gave a Somerset address but asked for it to be posted to Nigeria ‘as a wedding present’.

Miss Hunter (pictured) delivered the parcel to Guernsey Post on Thursday 13 January.

But later the next day she realised something was wrong.

‘I tried clicking online on Amazon to say I had dispatched the package but it wouldn’t let me,’ she said.

‘I got in touch with Amazon and they said that nobody had bought it and if they had I wouldn’t have been sent an email.’

Miss Hunter said Amazon told her there was nothing they could do and that she should contact police.

Realising she had been scammed, Miss Hunter said she spoke to a Guernsey Post employee who told her there was nothing they could do.

She also went to the police but, because it was a Saturday, the fraud department was unavailable.

Miss Hunter was forced to wait until Monday when she was finally able to get the help of the police and a Guernsey Post manager who worked hard to locate the package.

But by this time the camera had already left the island.

‘We found out that the package was with Royal Mail in Coventry,’ she said.

Royal Mail confirmed that they had the item but said that because it had already been sent they could not interfere.

‘That’s what made me mad – the fact that they had the package and all the officials knew it was a scam and they still sent it anyway.’

A Royal Mail spokesman said the organisation was concerned to hear about the incident and was investigating.

Miss Hunter’s mother, Diana Winterflood, said her daughter had been badly let down.

‘She was trying to raise money to go to Sri Lanka by selling something she treasured,’ she said.

‘I feel so angry – she went from euphoric from having sold her camera to heartbroken.’

Guernsey Post confirmed its customer services team had been contacted by Ms Hunter earlier this month and was currently looking into the matter.

‘Guernsey Post will be happy to cooperate in any further investigation,’ it said.

A police spokesman confirmed receiving such a complaint. No one from Amazon was immediately available to comment.