Today's post is not about microcontrollers. It's about scammers. I will go through an (unsuccessful) attempt to steal my money.
I was selling my old Macbook on Facebook Marketplace. I used marketplace a few times before and it was always rather positive experience. But not this time.
Here is the conversation with one of the "buyers" with my comments. The "buyer's" name is Klaudia. I'm pretty sure that its a real person account that has been hacked, so I won't blame the real Klaudia for that :)
Klaudia
Available?
Me:
Yes
Klaudia:
What are the recent conditions
Where are you located?
Me:
It’s in very good condition. I’m at Taringa
So far looks legit. Someone who wanted to buy would ask these questions. Keep talking...
Klaudia:
Okay sounds good, I won't be able to pick up myself today because of my working hours but I can send one of my truck driver along with my son to come pick it up and Do you have paypal or bank transfer?
Now things diverge from normal and you can spot two red flags.
1) The "buyer" rushes me to make the transaction quickly. It is already 6pm and in Australia it is the time when people have dinner with their families. It is definitely not the time to do any business. But the criminal wants to me to make decisions quickly because otherwise I'd have time to think and figure out that something is not right out there.
2) The "buyer" doesn't want to come along himself. She/He's sending "one of my truck driver". Not willing to meet in person is definitely a red flag. But not only this, think about that whole sentence. If I had a business with a few trucks, would I try to buy a used computer on facebook? Or I just pop up in the Apple Store and get a new one?
Still hoping that I'm wrong and it's just a normal person who wants to buy.
Me:
I’d prefer bank transfer or cash
It is worth mentioning that it is relatively safe in Australia to give someone your bank account information. It is nearly impossible for scammers to withdraw any money from the account.
Klaudia:
What’s your Bsb information so I can proceed wth the payment now once I pay now kindly mark the item as sold because we got a deal okay
Klaudia:
I’m sending as goods and services so I need your email address to confirm the intended recipient of funds, so what’s your email address so I can pay ?
Ok, now we have a meaningless mix of words. Also, they're asking for my email. Bank transfer definitely does not require an email and sharing of your valid email may pose a risk of identity theft. This is a huge red flag! From now I'm 99.9% sure that its a criminal, not a fair buyer. Well, let's keep playing. I have a junk email address specifically for such situations that won't open access to any of my services.
Klaudia:
Hello the payment has been made and I alert that confirmation has sent directly into your email please your inbox folder now
Ok, let's see the email.
-----------------------------------------------
From: BANK OF AUSTRALIA appfeedbackstandardsbank@gmail.com
Subject: Fwd: **PAYMENT ON HOLD**READ INSTRUCTIONS BELOW
Date: 10 August 2023 at 17:48
To: XXXXX
DEAR CUSTOMER
YOU ARE RECEIVING THIS EMAIL BECAUSE YOU FILLED OUT YOUR EMAIL ON BSB.
PAYMENT PENDING KINDLY CONTACT SENDER IMMEDIATELY
Please note this payment can not be canceled it is already processed inyour account. Your payment of $1,300.00 is pending as the status of your account is not enrolled as a business account. This will not make bsb credit your account until it enrolls as a business account to accept the payment.
BSB: 923100 ACCT: 123456
Contact buyer. They’ll receive an email or text notification letting them know about your bsb account upgrade to send in additional $700.00 payment to you. As soon as the additional transfer is made to your bsb account, we will verify that and enroll your bsb to a Business Account to release the sum of $2,000.00 But you have to refund the additional payment once the verification is completed.
Thanks for using bsb.
------------------------------------------------
It is obvious that a bank cannot send such an email. While a person can potentially have such an clumsy English writing, an email from a bank definitely cannot look like that. Not only is it grammatically weird, but it also uses words and terms kinda randomly. For example, the phrase "Thanks for using bsb" makes no sense at all. The BSB in Australia is just a bank routing number. Finally, the bank sends emails from gmail account. WTF?
By the way, did you see that they also "offered" additional 700 bucks. What a luck!
Now it is 500% scam. No doubts. So, I said Klaudia that I'm reporting the conversation to the police.
However, it's not the end. The last pathetic attempt to get the dirty hand on my money:
Klaudia:
Yes i received the same email as well that your account isn’t business so you can’t get credited so i am required to send in an additional payment of $700 to expand your account limit to business so you can get credited can i trust you that once i send the additional payment you’ll refund me back immediately can i trust??
One more red flag: can I trust? Scammers always try to endear by showing that they trust you. Also, they plead for pity, see below. Don't be fooled.
Klaudia:
The payment as beeen debuted from my account now
Klaudia:
The payment have been deducted from my account already
It can been canceled :(
The bottom line is, be careful when dealing with public places. Check for the red flags and if something looks suspicious do not proceed.
Update.
I've had my MacBook listed on Facebook Marketplace just for 3 days. In that time, I've received 7 scam requests (all very similar), 1 legitimate message from someone who is looking for a bargain, and 1 message from someone who I'm not sure if they're a scammer or not.
Thus the advise is, don't use facebook for electrinics at all. Alternalively, if you really have to:
- Do not post! Insist on meeting in person with the actual person (not a son, uncle, truck driver, uber etc).
- Take a photo of the seller's driver's license. This will help you to track them down if they scam you.
- Be careful with PayPal. They do have a merchant protection, but there are a few exclusions. It's best to insist on cash (or bank transfer, but wait until you actually see the funds in your account).
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