There is a ver particular and special circle of hell reserved for online scammers. People on the internet looking to make a quick buck by preying on others.

They are getting more sophisticated every month that passes. I remember years back, it was eBay fraud. They ‘sold’ trending items and never shipped them. Luckily, the company implement anti-fraud security protocoles and it’s harder to that this day an age.

Some lurk BUY-SELL groups on social media, and are always on the lookout to “DM You” because they have what you’re looking, and of course, at better price than everyone. “Hey, what is your email and address. Please PayPal my mom’s account or use Zelle” for a transaction that can easily be done in person: One handing the cash, and the other the goods.

Concert scammers are one of the worst. “I have tickets available [insert generic reason for not being able to go]. I’ll sell them at the same price I got them (sounds great, right?). Please give me your email so I can transfer them right now. Send me the money via PayPal at [insert some email that doesn’t have anything to do with the person’s name or even anything that actually exists].” -So, can you send me some evidence or confirmation that you actually have those tickets? “I’m not looking to scam you”.

LMAO, that’s EXACTLY what a scammer would say.

Then you check their profile, and it’s the most common of fake profiles:
A) Various posts of random photos that look too generic to be from a real person. HUGE amount of followers. You click on them, and they’re bots and bots and more bots…

B) 1-5 photos, all of them posted either within the past month or one every six months. Almost no followers, almost no following. A ghost profile with no personality, nor history.

To summerize:

• If you’re gonna buy any goods, meet in person (in a safe place, OBVIOUSLY).
• Never ever send money to a stranger that you cannot verify their identity with barely a superficial google/social media search
• If it doesn’t look legit, it probably isn’t. Miss out. You’ll eventually get what you’re looking for even if it costs a little more. Paying a couple of bucks more is better than losing your money and getting nothing in return.
• If you ever receive an email from a Nigerian prince offering you his riches in return for your personal and financial information, don’t overlook it. That one is probably real. I mean, he’s royalty why would he try to scam you?