Perhaps Not Fraud, but Some Comic Relief Definitely Worth Reading

I figure I would venture out and offer some comic relief before my next post about fraud avoidance.

After listing my iPhone 6 on KSL, I received this text within eight minutes:

Now, I couldn't tell yet if this was fraud.  Usually, scammers will not reach out by iPhone. Perhaps it's because iMessage is too connected to Apple ID or potential emails. So there was a higher percentage of this being legit.

However, I wasn't previously unaware that iPhone was now a verb. I guess I have a question for all of us to think about: Do you still iPhone?

 I definitely still iPhone.

At this point, the conversation got a lot more interesting.

I'm not sure I need to say more. Actually, I refuse to say more.

Although short, it was perhaps one of the greatest exchanges I've had in my online selling days.

Can I get $2,000,000 in Nickels and Dimes, Please?

 In light of the popularity of my first post, I've decided to write another on an email scam I received. This one won't need as much dissection and analysis as my last one. You'll know, very quickly, that it's fraud-- unless, of course, the UN is actually handing out $2,000,000 to students on behalf of a tax error.

So check this out: 

Guess what? I was a scammed victim, and I didn't even know it! That is, perhaps, the most clever approach I have seen yet. Let's scam someone by telling them they are a scam victim! 

Well, I had just found out that Peter Godwin, a mysterious man working on my behalf, was going to ensure that I could receive an ATM card with $2,000,000 if I just called that number. Let's remember that I happened to be one of the "lucky beneficiaries" of the United Nations. 

It's because I paid my tithing, isn't it? 

Although I neglected to call the number, I couldn't resist the opportunity of becoming an instant millionaire. So, I replied instantly: 

And with that reply, the inquiry begun. I suppose it's worth noting that I have an alternate email by the name of Jason Allred to protect my personal information. I hope that doesn't indirectly make me a scammer by pretending to be Jason Allred. Jason Allred, if you're out there, I apologize. It was not my intention. 

Within a day, Godwin Peter was ready to ensure I received my money:

Alright, so a couple things to note here. I guess I was no longer speaking with Godwin Peter. I was now receiving emails from Godwin's Peter. Peter had mysteriously transformed into an article of property-- and he was Godwin's. 

Although he signed as "Godwin Peter", I couldn't help but wonder if there had been some sort of mistake-- Peter Godwin maybe? Anyhow, I recognize his dire urgency to get me the money, but I wanted to confirm the money would be there. So after asking if the money would definitely be on the card, he promptly responded: 

Such good news indeed! Not only could I withdraw $5,000 per day for 400 days straight, but I also could use Inner Switch to ensure my ATM was usable anywhere. I quickly Googled Inner Switch, only to find that it was a Hypnotherapy company. A further search revealed that there's no company by that name that does anything of the matter. But heck, I was going to receive 2 million-- I'd go to the same ATM over and over again if I had to (because all ATMs would definitely let me pull $5,000 at one time). 

So, I decided to try to push the envelope a little bit here, and see if I could get a little more information: 

Thankfully, Godwin Peter understood my worry. And the opening sentence to his next response resolved all of my concern: 

Think positively-- that's all I had to do. Perhaps the wisest advice I had ever received from a man I had never met. And sadly, my conversation with Godwin Peter ended after my next inquiry: 

And that's the last I heard from Godwin Peter. 

A True PayPal

Over the course of the past few months, I've had the opportunity to sell hundreds of items on KSl.com, Amazon.com, and eBay.com. While I, in no way, consider myself an expert, I've learned much about the patterns and strategies scammers will use to get your items for free-- or even collect money from you.

While I was fearful at first, I quickly learned these were cowards who only dared interact in the virtual world. After realizing that, my fear quickly dissipated and I became an offensive player in these conversations rather than a fearful defendant. 

And that's when the fun really began. I began engaging in conversations with fraudulent buyers through email, texts, and even phone calls at times. I figure if I can engage them with me, that's less time they'll be spending scamming an unsuspecting victim. 

I figured I would post my latest interaction to help people out there more quickly recognize scammers. Once you learn their strategies, it really isn't too difficult. 

Let's break it down. 

This attempt was one of the more sophisticated attempts, but I knew it was fraud in the first text. 

Often times, the scammer will directly copy and paste your item into their subject line. Who types a text message like this? Nobody. He copy and pasted my exact item into a box, left a space between the template he uses, and sent it over. 

Secondly, the scammer's grammar and English is below average (but above the average of most scammers I've dealt with). While the grammar of most in text messages is poor, you'll often notice abhorring grammar and English in these. That is not to meant to be racial or bias in any way-- it's just a pattern that has become overwhelming clear in the several confrontations I've had. 

I won't break down the entire conversation, but as I said before, this attempt was more elaborate. I engaged in conversation with him for quite a long time, and he was actually negotiating with me. Usually, they will offer to pay it through Paypal in the second message after you confirm it's available. Yet, there were still several flaws with his approach here: 

1. He said he's in St. George. Clever move. He's going to want me to ship it and he's going to want to pay through PayPal. But wait.. What's the zip code? 478. I Googled it, and it came up as an area code in Georgia. Yes, it's possible he moved there from Georgia and kept his area code. Probable? No. Another hint. 
2. Asking you to mail it. As soon as they ask you to mail it, you know it's fraud. They are going to have you ship it to an address, and they're going to want to "pay" you using an online source. 
3. Family reason. In every fraud instance I've seen, they've used some compelling family issue to speed up the process. In the case of selling an Apple Watch, it's almost an urgent birthday gift. And whaddya know? The scammer wants to surprise their brother which means I need to ship it immediately. Right....
4. His grammar is better than most... but still. 

So, to speed things up here, I gave him an email address to sent me a "PayPal payment". If you do this, ensure that you do not take any action until you see the money in your account on PayPal. Within a few minutes, I received a fake email from PayPal, confirming his payment. What were the problems? 

1. The email was sent to my scam folder. I do regular transactions on PayPal, and their emails definitely do not go to my spam folder. 
2. Check the fine print of the email:

I cross-checked this email with the ones I receive from Paypal. PayPal is not going to tell you have to send your package before you receive the payment. The scammer is-- no surprise. Additionally, notice the typos? 

• "This is a security measure taking to ensure the safety"
• "to make sure the buyer get their item"
• "as soon as we credit your your paypal account"

Right, so one of the biggest online merchants misspelled their fine print more than four times? 

So, after I sent him a fake tracking number and he asked me where his package was, this is how I concluded the conversation.

And that's the biggest giveaway right there. As soon as you call them on their bluff, they're gone. Their cowards behind the veil of virtual interaction. They'll run as soon as they know you're onto them, and find the next unsuspecting victim. 

Again, I'm not an expert-- just sharing what I've noticed and observed.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.