A man with a zip fetish has been targeting online clothes sellers. Photo / Supplied
A man with a zip fetish has been targeting online clothes sellers. Photo / Supplied
A man with a bizarre fetish has left a Sydney mum feeling "creeped out and violated" after he sent her a weird series of messages.
The mother from Strathfield told news.com.au she was trying to sell a leather jacket on Facebook marketplace when a man messaged her with a peculiarrequest.
He wanted to know what letters were emblazoned on the jacket's zip.
"On the metal zipper pull fly there's letters stamped there can you tell me what they are as I'm interested in them please thank you :)," the man wrote to her.
Sending a "love" reaction to her message saying it was a YKK zip, the buyer asked her to send zoomed-in pictures.
The buyer asked for zoomed in pictures. Photo / Supplied
Thinking the man was a potential buyer who wanted the jacket for his girlfriend or to deconstruct it, she obliged but felt something wasn't right.
"Looks amazing thank you :)," the man responded to a zoomed-in picture, before asking whether she had any jeans with the same zipper. In particular he wanted "old worn jeans".
The mother said she was starting to feel uneasy by this point, and the man began hinting at why he was so fixated on zips.
"I'm guessing ur curious about why the zip," he said. "Sorry did you want to know :)"
The mother said she would like to know.
"Do you judge (?)" he asked.
The man never ended up buying the jeans. Photo / Supplied
"Please let me know if you're serious about the transaction," the mother wrote back, telling news.com.au a red flag had popped up in her mind at this point.
"Yeah I am. I just asked a question but I'm guessing by ur response u do?" he wrote. "I don't judge at all. Everyone is different."
He agreed to buy the clothes for $300, but never ended up sending the money.
The mother told news.com.au she felt violated, and was worried about what the man may have been doing while messaging her.
It was her first time selling anything on Facebook and she had been left "absolutely creeped out" by the experience.
News.com.au can confirm the man behind the messages is the same man who targeted at least six women, who were trying to sell clothes in 2018, with creepy messages.
He told them he loved the "sweet" taste of zips and requested zoomed-in pictures.
When approached online, the man told news.com.au he "can't help" sending messages to women about zips.
NSW Police reminds those selling their wares to report any abuse.
"If people believe they are being harassed or bullied on social media they should report it to the page administrator," a spokeswoman for the force said.
"Cyber-bullying and online stalking can also be reported to the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (Acorn)."
