I’ve sold a fair number of things on-line. I don’t quite know how many, but I have over 400 reviews on my eBay Profile. While eBay used to be hit-or-miss, it’s settled into a fairly reliable tool as long as the seller has a bunch of transactions. When Facebook and Paypal partnered, the finances for transactions stabilized.<\/p>\n
Now Facebook Marketplace has come along. Facebook’s controls are (unsurprisingly) terrible, and payment technology has “improved”. Many banks now offer Zelle for direct money transfers, and scammers have locked onto it. If I post almost anything on FB Marketplace, I’m likely to get multiple hits. The sad part is they’re easy to pick out, as they almost all follow the same template:<\/p>\n
They in turn have gotten much better at detecting when I’m screwing with them, so I have to be more subtle than I used to be. But they still aren’t very bright. The profile tends to be obviously from Eastern Europe (both the name, any photos, etc). Here’s a transcript from my most recent transaction:<\/p>\n
Katarzyna
\nStill available?<\/p>\n
You sent
\nYes.<\/p>\n
I’d be willing to take $300 for it if you can pick it up.
\n[By the time we got here, I’d already looked at the profile and decided they were in Eastern Europe]<\/p>\n
Katarzyna
\nI have few questions<\/p>\n
Does it have any faults ?<\/p>\n
You sent
\nNo, it’s in great shape. My parents just remodeled and replaced it with another model.<\/p>\n
Katarzyna
\nOk sounds good<\/p>\n
Where are you located?<\/p>\n
You sent
\nShelby NC<\/p>\n
Katarzyna
\nOkay I\u2019ll be picking it up when I am off duty by tomorrow but I\u2019ll be making payment now So you can mark it as sold and stop accepting new offers?<\/p>\n
You sent
\nok, I can do that.<\/p>\n
Katarzyna
\nOk , Do you have zelle for payments?<\/p>\n
You sent
\nI think I’ve used it before.<\/p>\n
Katarzyna
\nAlright send me your zelle information<\/p>\n
You sent
\nLet me go get it – one sec
\nI think it’s tied to my bank account.<\/p>\n
Katarzyna replied to you
\nYes mine as well<\/p>\n
You sent
\nYup, here it is https:\/\/www.firsthorizon.com\/Personal\/Products-and-Services\/Digital-Banking-Category\/Send-Money\/Zelle-FAQs<\/p>\n
Katarzyna
\nI don\u2019t understand links , can i get your zelle email and phone number to pay<\/p>\n
You sent
\nyes, I’m trying to find it – one sec<\/p>\n
Katarzyna
\nGo to zelle section in your bank application, check on the settings profile you would see your zelle email and phone number<\/p>\n
You sent
\nmy zelle email is zll@corwyn.net<\/p>\n
Katarzyna replied to you
\nDo you have access to this email?<\/p>\n
You sent
\nyes<\/p>\n
Katarzyna
\nAlright sending payment rn<\/p>\n
You sent
\nIf I recall you’ll sent the money and I’ll get an email<\/p>\n
Katarzyna replied to you
\nYes sir<\/p>\n
You sent
\nI don’t have an email? Let me go check my spam folder<\/p>\n
Katarzyna
\nWhat email do you use to receive mail?<\/p>\n
You sent
\nzll@corwyn.net<\/p>\n
Katarzyna
\nzl@corwyn.net
\nThis?<\/p>\n
You sent
\n(my mail is weird, each thing has it’s own email)
\nyes
\n[this should have warned them off, but apparently not]<\/p>\n
Katarzyna
\nAlright<\/p>\n
You sent
\nLet me know when you’ve sent it<\/p>\n
Katarzyna
\nI have successfully sent payment\u2019s check your email inbox to confirm<\/p>\n
Dear customer,
\nYou have a pending payment of $300.00 USD.
\nWe should be crediting your account now but we noticed the status of your Zelle account has been limited and not a business account, so it cannot be credited. An email has been sent to the buyer as well regarding the transaction, We need you to contact the buyer to send additional amount of $400.00 USD to your Zelle account so it can be expanded and change to a business account and you will be credited immediately with $700.00 USD into your account.
\n**PLEASE NOTE**You will receive a \u201cCONFIRMATION EMAIL\u201d from Zelle\u00ae\ufe0f Team informing you that the funds has been credited into your account. Questions? Thank you for using Zelle.Copyright. \u00a9 2017-2022 Zelle. All right reserved.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nYou sent
\nGreat! What time would you like to come by to pick it up tomorrow.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\n6pm tomorrow
\nConfirm sir<\/p>\nYou sent
\nthat’s great for me – thanks
\nSee you then.<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to themself
\n?
\nHave you gotten it<\/p>\nYou sent
\nI have an email from Zelle Pay, so we should be all set.
\nI’ll see you tomorrow.<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to you
\nSend a screenshot of what you got sir
\n??<\/p>\nYou sent
\nI don’t understand. I got your payment<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nIt\u2019s say pending on my end that\u2019s why i asked you to send a screenshot of what you got sir
\n[I, of course, know that]<\/p>\nYou sent
\nIt probably just takes a while to go through.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nI understand<\/p>\nYou sent
\nGive it a few minutes and check again.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nOpen the message you got hold volume button and power button to screenshot it<\/p>\nBecause I got an email from zelle as well<\/p>\n
You sent
\nI’m on a PC, not a phone.
\n[This type of answer tends to make things go a bit awry which is, of course, my goal.]
\nI don’t know how to screenshot it. But I believe you that it went through.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nUse your phone to snap the message<\/p>\nI received an email from zelle that your account isn\u2019t business so you can\u2019t be credited so i am required to send in an additional of $400USD to expand your account limit to business so you can get credited can i trust you that once i send the additional payment you\u2019ll refund me back immediately can i trust<\/p>\n
You sent
\nI haven’t sen that before, but of course I will<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nAlright sending the additional payments<\/p>\nI\u2019ve successfully sent out the additional payment check your email inbox to confirm<\/p>\n
[Yup, a second email]<\/p>\n
You have received an additional payment of $400.00 Requirements to get your funds released for both parties protection:
\n*Contact your sender and get their information to make the refund of $400.00.*Take a screenshot of the refund being successfully sent and reply to this email with it, so we can verify and release the total sum of $700.00. To you immediately.Note: This transaction have been secured with our Expedited security team,so we are requiring you to REFUND the $400.00. before your pending balance can be released into your account, the refund will not be available to your sender until you get the total payment of $700.00.<\/p>\nContactPrivacyLegal To learn more, go to reply back to this confirmation email.Have a problem? email usMon. \u2013 Sun., 10 a.m. \u2013 10 p.m. ET,except Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year\u2019s Days.Early Warning Services, LLC16552 N. 90th Street,Scottsdale, AZ 85260 USA<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
You sent
\nok one minute<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nOkay sir
\nConfirmed?<\/p>\nYou sent
\nYup, I got it.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nWhat does it says<\/p>\nYou sent
\nAdditional payment received.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nOpen up the message
\nAnd read the content<\/p>\n?? Or use your phone to take a picture of it so i can understand<\/p>\n
You sent
\nI have received payment<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nI got an email that states that the buyer has to refund the $400 additional payments sent to upgrade your zelle to a business zelle and you get credited fully $700.<\/p>\nYou sent
\nsure, no problem.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nSo you would need my zelle information to place the refund and send a screenshot to zelle<\/p>\nYou sent
\nOK, send me your zelle information.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nzfbphhniqn@hotmail.com
\n[Right. Message off to hotmail to deactivate the clearly junk account]<\/p>\nJAMES RAPHAEL
\nOnce you send payment use your phone to take a photo of the payments sir<\/p>\nYou sent
\nWho is James?<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nAnd send it to back zelle so $700 can drop into your account, okay
\nMy husband, we use a joint account<\/p>\nYou sent
\nOk
\nOk I replied to the email from zelle<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nAlright
\nHave you sent the refund?<\/p>\nYou sent
\nNot yet, one minute making dinner<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nOkay sir<\/p>\nYou sent
\nI can’t figure out how to issue a refund, I’ll just write you a check when you come to pick up the oven
\nSee you tomorrow!<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to you
\nNo
\nRefunding back the $400 won\u2019t take you a mins
\nAll you have to do is to go to your banking app click on the Zelle icon on it says send money with Zelle input the email as new recipient input the refund amount click on send review and send them take a clear screenshot of where it says sent and reply back to Zelle for verification
\nSo can you do that and send a screenshot so I can put you thru<\/p>\nYou sent
\nthat’s too complicated. I’ll just write you a check tomorrow.<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to you<\/p>\n
Can I call you
\n[hah! No, I’m not giving you my phone number]
\nIf you go thru the instructions from zelle the refund should be sent to my zelle information<\/p>\nYou sent
\nit’s too late – if the phone rings it will wake my wife.
\nBut if a check is a problem, I’ll just hand you cash tomorrow.<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to you
\nNo bro
\n[Bro? The profile image is a womain in her mid-50s. I think we’re starting to crack]
\nI\u2019ll put you through
\nIf I ask,Do you\u2019ve $400 from your personal pocket to make the refund
\n??
\n??<\/p>\nYou sent
\nYes, I’ll do it tomorrow. No worries.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nOk
\nA refund can be sent within a mins<\/p>\nYou sent
\nI’ll have it when you pick up the stove.<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to you
\nNo bro \ud83e\udd26\u200d\u2642\ufe0f
\nLog into your banking app<\/p>\nYou sent
\nyeah, but I can’t find the option.
\nIf you don’t want the stove, I’ll just refund your money.
\n[See, a bright person here would have asked that I refund all $700, instead of sticking with the $400. Go big or go home, right?]<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to you
\nAre you in your banking app<\/p>\nYou sent
\nAnyway, good night, see you tomorrow.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nFollow up this instructions sir
\nYou\u2019re making this hard
\n[Shocking]
\nSending won\u2019t take you up to 3mins<\/p>\nYou sent
\nI can’t figure it out, but we can solve tomorrow.<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to you
\nWhat can\u2019t you figure out sir
\nLog into your banking app<\/p>\nYou sent
\nLook I’m not good with computers.<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to you
\nOhh I see
\nDo you\u2019ve a kids
\n[This is hilarious!]<\/p>\nYou sent
\nthey’re in bed.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nOk
\nWhat time will you be up
\nSo we can get this fixed
\nYou can do this but you\u2019re making it feel hard for yourself sir\ud83e\udd26\u200d\u2642\ufe0f
\nIt making me feel hard for my money
\n[Definitely not a native speaker]<\/p>\nYou sent
\nI won’t have time in the morning. I have to get to work and the kids off to church.<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to you
\nOk
\nWhen can you get this done
\nAre you close to Walmart
\n[Aha! A different attempt to get my money – we’re switching from Zelle to gift cards]<\/p>\nYou sent
\ntomorrow when you arrive.
\nThere’s a walmart on the other side of town – why?<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nNo not when I arrive
\nCan you head to Walmart
\nYou sent
\nno they’re closed.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nI know
\nTomorrow!<\/p>\nYou sent
\nDo you want to meet me at the walmart ?<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nYou got $400 in cash right<\/p>\nYou sent
\nI’ll pick it up at the ATM tomorrow.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nOk
\nBut you got $400 in cash right<\/p>\nYou sent
\nI don’t have it in hand but I’ll get it before you get here.<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nOk
\nYou\u2019ll get to the atm and get $400 out
\nLmk once you got that done okay<\/p>\nYou sent
\nIt will be on my way home from work<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to you
\nWhat time
\nThis is getting so hilarious
\n[You don’t know the half of it.]<\/p>\nYou sent
\nProably 5:45, just before I meet you at 6
\nActually, if we could push the pickup to 7 that would be better for me.<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to you
\nDo I have your words you\u2019ll get me back my $400
\nYou\u2019re making this so much \ud83e\udd26\u200d\u2642\ufe0f<\/p>\nYou sent
\nAbsolutely.
\nWill you need help loading the stove?<\/p>\nKatarzyna
\nYes
\nCan you get me a steam wallet card at Walmart
\nWorth Of $400<\/p>\nYou sent
\nOk, I can get my son to help load.<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to you
\nOk
\nYou don\u2019t Load it
\nAll you do is get the card and send the code
\nSteam wallet card<\/p>\nYou sent
\nThe walmart is out of the way, the ATM is on my way home.<\/p>\nNo I can’t help load it-it’s too heavy for me.<\/p>\n
Katarzyna replied to you
\nOk<\/p>\nYou sent
\nGood, that’s settled. See you tomorrow. Night!<\/p>\nKatarzyna replied to themself
\nYou\u2019ll get a steam wallet card of $400
\nGet that at Walmart
\nIs that okay with you!<\/p>\nYou haven\u2019t responded
\nYou sent
\nI’m trying to get to bed – it’s late. I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night.<\/p>\nand I went to bed.<\/p>\n
But before I went to bed, I’d looked up the WHOIS record for their domain (customer_service@zellepaylogs.com), registered with Google. A nslookup tells me they’re using Google for their (main) server as well.\u00a0 Messages\/fraud reports sent to Google, Hotmail, and Facebook, Zelle, and the FBI IC3 complain line. Likely won’t make any difference, but getting rid of their domain registration will cost them real money to set back up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’ve sold a fair number of things on-line. I don’t quite know how many, but I have over 400 reviews on my eBay Profile. While eBay used to be hit-or-miss, it’s settled into a fairly reliable tool as long as the seller has a bunch of transactions. When Facebook and Paypal partnered, the finances for … Continue reading “How to get ripped off”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-scam"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinister.net\/netpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinister.net\/netpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinister.net\/netpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinister.net\/netpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinister.net\/netpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1330"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinister.net\/netpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1346,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinister.net\/netpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1330\/revisions\/1346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinister.net\/netpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinister.net\/netpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinister.net\/netpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}