Scammer’s shocking confession to Aussie who called him out

Scammer’s shocking confession to Aussie who called him out

• Online swindler reveals how lucrative scam is
• They called people who fall for the crime ‘idiots’ 

By Padraig Collins For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 04:09 BST, 2 August 2023 | Updated: 05:30 BST, 2 August 2023

An online scammer has let drop how lucrative the swindle is, revealing how much had been taken from just one fraud on an unsuspecting Australian. 

‘I just smashed an idiot over $2k,’ the criminal boastfully wrote to a targeted person who had cottoned on to what was happening.

A poster on a Reddit thread wrote about how the Facebook Marketplace scam operates, saying ‘they’re not actually posing as sellers, they’re posing as buyers.

‘They pretend to transfer the seller money, then ask the seller to pay them an “account upgrade fee” to release the money,’ the poster wrote

‘What’s most surprising is people fall for it,’ another added.

In this case, the person marked out to be ripped off didn’t fall for the crime, but strung the scammer along for a while anyway. Their online conversation is pictured

But in this case, at least, the person marked out to be ripped off didn’t fall for the crime, but strung the scammer along for a while anyway. 

In the case that exposed the scam, the swindler made an excuse for having to delay  payment, texting ‘actually I’m not available in town right now but I could tell my Daughter to help me pick it up if you don’t mind’.

The seller agreed to that and the pretend buyer then stepped up the grift, asking for bank details. 

‘Do you have payid (payment identification) so I can make payment to you cause my daughter doesn’t have bank account for me to make payment to her.’

However the seller was not that gullible, and let it be known.

‘Does this scam actually work lol,’ the seller wrote. ‘Do people really fall for this s***,’ following it with a crying emoji.

Rather than denying it was a scam, the fraudster responded with the truth, writing ‘Yes. I just smashed an idiot over $2k,’ followed by a laughing emoji.

The seller, who was no doubt delighted to have not been taken in, replied ‘f*** me lol’. 

Other posters chimed in on where the scam had come from, with one saying ‘The use of the word “actually” screams India to me.’

But another wrote that ‘Many scams are done by 14-16 yo Aussie kids. 

‘You’d be surprised how many sit on hacking forums determining how to scam the Aussie public.’

A poster on a Reddit thread wrote about how the Facebook Marketplace scam operates, saying ‘they’re not actually posing as sellers, they’re posing as buyers. A stock image of a scammer is pictured

A third poster agreed that the swindle was unlikely to have originated abroad.

‘Yeah the wording of that reply doesn’t scream Nigerian prince to me, it screams bogan,’ they wrote. 

Others encouraged the victims of scams and attempted scams to report them to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).

‘If ASIO reports increasing scams to the government they might force Facebook to crack down on marketplace and maybe make them verify ID,’ they wrote.  

Steps you can take to protect yourself from scams 

STOP – Don’t give money or person information to anyone if unsure

Scammers will offer to help you or ask you to verify who you are. They will pretend to be from organisations you know and trust such as Services Australia, the police, a bank, government or a fraud service.

THINK – Ask yourself could a message or call be a fake?

Never click a link in a message. Only contact businesses or government using contact information from their official website or through their secure apps. If you’re not sure, say no, hang up or delete. 

PROTECT – Act quickly if something feels wrong

Contact your bank if you notice some unusual activity or if a scammer gets your money or information. Seek help from IDCARE and report to ReportCyber and Scamwatch.

Source: Scamwatch 

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