Well, Sunday was fun. I listed some stuff online to sell and boy did the scammers come out to play.

The first was an oldie but goodie–after offering to purchase my items they then wanted me to prove that I was a real person or for their safety or whatever reason and want me to send me a code back to them; This then gives them access to my email/phone for all sorts of mischief. Read here for more: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/scam-alert-prove-to-me-you-are-a-human-and-not-a-bot

I had about 5 of those and they were quite miffed when I said it was a scam.

But truly how does sending stuff back prove I am not a scammer or ensure their safety?

The second one was a bit more clever: He asked questions then realized he couldn’t pick up the item in person and wanted to send someone but wanted to pay for it in advance. I offered a little used email address linked with my seller’s account, then he’d claimed to have sent me money and I received a mysterious email saying I needed to pay extra to set up a special kind of business account and that he’d already lost money.

Thankfully, I watched Mark Rober on Youtube who exposed these kinds of scams before and I know where a real fund account email goes and what it looks like. FMI: https://www.itgovernance.co.uk/blog/5-ways-to-detect-a-phishing-email I chatted with the scammer for a bit then got bored and hung up.

I did report him to the social media platform from whence he sprang as a scammer, so we’ll see if he gets blocked and has to set up a new account.

In the end, it was a very exciting day.

Until next time, stay safe both on- and off-line.