Online scammers are everywhere. They just want to milk you for cash knowing full well that you will be hard pressed to get your money back. They can make hundreds of dollars a day, or more, just by charging you a small upfront fee.
What’s more, when you go to pay the fee, they collect your personal information, like your bank account, home address and social security number. They are robbing people blind.
Craigslist
Craigslist is a notorious haven for scammers of all types … especially real estate.
In my business, ads for graphic designers very often are a sham. In one case, the advertiser wanted me to basically provide free work with the promise I would be paid a commission. Just before Covid hit, I sent out several hundred dollars of resumes and portfolios without a single response. When I called, no one ever took the call or called back.
A few weeks back I saw a group posting for apartments and homes for rent. I was intrigued by one listing where the chap wanted me to text for a tour. Then he asked me to pay $60 (that seems to be a popular amount) and he would schedule a tour. He sent me a link to PayPal but it wasn’t in his name. This is when it started to smell like a rotten mackerel.
So I started doing some forensic investigation. This guy wasn’t all that smart, either. He showed photos of the house, including the exterior, and indicated what street it was on. But he failed to see or block out the address on the curb. I did a Google search and reverse image look up on Google and found that the home was listed by a realtor for twice the price.
Then I looked up the phone number he listed and found several other listings all across the country with the same number, similar type listings, but different people. Obviously, this was a gang of thugs and, to be honest, they all looked like they had, or should have, spent time in the pokey. The original chap looked like he belonged in a cartel, and another looked like he was a mafia member in New Jersey.
The latest: Second Chance Homes or Apartments
They ask for basic information … fortunately not one’s social or current address, then a person by the name of Ben writes you and says that for $60 (that price sounds familiar) they will send you a list of all places that meet your criteria.
I was born in the night, maybe, but it wasn’t last night. My first clue that something was amiss was they have two identical paragraphs of text on their home page.
So, being who I am, I checked their address. It is a UPS store in St. Louis. Then, I did three more things.
I checked with the Better Business Bureau who rated the company with an “F.”
Then I did a Google organic search and found numerous consumer complaints.
Finally, they don’t have a Google listing page.
I wrote Ben and told him I thought his company were con artists. Naturally, I didn’t hear back.
Here’s my concern.
There are so many crooks out there, it’s like a swarm of angry bees. A friend of mine with the FBI tells me that they can’t even keep up with the major cases. Banks and other financial institutions are so overwhelmed they often just refund the money as they don’t have the time, resources or evidence to pursue legal action.
How do we educate poor, unsuspecting people to protect themselves? There are so many innocuous ways where one can be duped. I get official looking messages several times a week. And even threats that my sexual encounters will be exposed on the Net unless I pay several thousands in Bitcoins.
Gads, where does it all end?
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In a future article, I will write about networking scams/scammers.
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