200
votes
Am I being scammed after paying almost $10,000 to a tree company not being able to withdraw my profit without paying a fee
I was contacted by a woman on Instagram we told me I could make a $50,000 profit after sending in $500
Yes, you're being scammed. Didn't even read the rest. As long as you keep sending them money ...
- 162k
148
votes
Accepted
Scam caller asked for last 4 digits of card. Fake number doesn't fool him, does he have my full number?
He was probably trying to impersonate you on a site that legitimately knows your card number, perhaps your card issuer itself. Such a site would challenge your identity by asking for your last four ...
- 838
118
votes
What should I do when an employer issues a check and requests my personal banking access details?
Your list of required items contains a 100% sure marker for scam, namely the request for your password. Nobody legitimite will ever ask you for your password, not even the bank that issued it. Do not ...
- 1,105
106
votes
How can I get Zelle to refund my buyer?
You are being scammed. You are not dealing with the real Zelle. Legitimate purchases never involve sending money back to the buyer. Stop all contact. Do not send them any money.
- 1,648
100
votes
Am I being scammed after paying almost $10,000 to a tree company not being able to withdraw my profit without paying a fee
Yes, this is a textbook scam.
You're viewing an "account" but the account only shows on their website, right? Well, they control that website and they can make it say anything they want. ...
100
votes
Does a company have to have your login information to verify your identity?
No. Anyone who asks for your username and password is very likely a scammer. Access to id.me is especially valuable as it would allow the scammer to essentially steal your whole online identity. Make ...
- 162k
73
votes
What should I do when an employer issues a check and requests my personal banking access details?
This is a scam. What you should do is cut off contact with them immediately.
No employer ever needs your bank username and password. Period.
Even the bank employees will not ask you for your password.
...
- 41.5k
68
votes
Accepted
Car buyer wants to pay by actual cash - what are the motivations and risks?
There are many reasons someone may want to pay in cash, from the innocuous (maybe a mild dislike of banks) to the nefarious (most common probably being doing work for cash under the table, paying no ...
- 41.5k
62
votes
My online boyfriend ask me to do the bank transfer using his bank account because he can't access it from another country
Any time someone asks you to move their money through your account, assume it is a scam.
Any time someone asks you to log in as them, assume it is a scam.
Any time someone asks you to do them a favor ...
- 41.5k
58
votes
Where can I report a cryptocurrency fraud?
Each time I am asked to pay a new fee to get my money back and they won’t deduct it from my earnings or my money back.
Stop doing this. You won't get any earnings, you're just giving more money to ...
- 162k
55
votes
Bitcoin scam: how screwed am I?
Good on you for catching the fraud immediately.
Immediately alert your bank to the suspected fraud. I would even walk into a branch, as then, they will instantly grok that you're for real and not ...
50
votes
Am I being scammed after paying almost $10,000 to a tree company not being able to withdraw my profit without paying a fee
This is a classic Advance Fee Fraud.
They took your $500 and ran with it.
They built a nice looking website where you can log in with a personal account and they can show you your "profits", ...
- 23.8k
45
votes
How can I get Zelle to refund my buyer?
Zelle does not have a concept of "business account" other than the bank account it is tied to, whether it is a business account or a personal account. See this article for some details of ...
- 35.7k
42
votes
Car buyer wants to pay by actual cash - what are the motivations and risks?
About 4.5% of households in the US and 3% of the population of Canada have no checking or savings accounts and 15% of Canadians only have limited interactions with their banks (ie no debit card/credit ...
- 68.6k
37
votes
Car buyer wants to pay by actual cash - what are the motivations and risks?
As someone who has bought several cars on craigslist in the past, my experience is that sellers usually prefer cash, because checks take a while to go through and can bounce. There are other options (...
37
votes
10 Trading.com - Fake or not?
There is a long history of somebody purchasing a dead trademark and url to make people believe that an old favorite is back.
This goes beyond that.
They have some information that tells them that you ...
- 133k
37
votes
Somebody sent me a check to deposit into my account, but I now think that it's a scam. will I get in trouble?
The check is most likely fraudulent/forged, and will eventually bounce. The scam is to convince you to convert most of that money to bitcoin to which the scammer then would have access and would ...
- 162k
34
votes
A paid website subscription subscribed me on two additional paid websites without my consent. Do I need to do more than cancel on those websites?
It is actually possible that you technically did consent to these charges through some intentionally bad designed UI somewhere during the signup process. This is a dark pattern of dubious legality ...
- 23.8k
32
votes
Scam caller asked for last 4 digits of card. Fake number doesn't fool him, does he have my full number?
The last digit is a check digit that uses the Luhn algorithm to help avoid data entry errors, but you need all of the previous digits to calculate the check value.
It is possible that they have a &...
- 133k
30
votes
My online boyfriend ask me to do the bank transfer using his bank account because he can't access it from another country
I'm sorry but there is no boyfriend and there is no bank.
You just gave away $2,090 to an Internet stranger. I don't know how you sent this money but assume it's gone forever.
To be in cahoots implies ...
- 8,045
29
votes
Am I being scammed after paying almost $10,000 to a tree company not being able to withdraw my profit without paying a fee
Contact the police. Now. This is simple fraud, and you are a victim of a crime.
The chances of you ever seeing that money again are basically zero. Your $500 is gone. But if the criminals are in your ...
- 2,402
26
votes
How can I get Zelle to refund my buyer?
SCAM! Flaming scam.
They are scamming you. They have never sent a single dime. Their objective is to con you out of $400.
(And then later, it'll be more, that's how these confidence games work. ...
25
votes
Dropship scammer hasn't billed yet - what's going on here?
"How does this scam work?" questions are hard to answer objectively.
I think there are a few likely outcomes:
They will bill you later. Weeks or months later after you forgot about the ...
- 8,300
19
votes
Checking system vs. SEPA and the like
Not everyone has a bank account. Sometimes that is because of distrust of the banking system. Sometimes that is because they don't have the documents to open a bank account. Sometimes that is ...
- 25.7k
19
votes
Accepted
Checking system vs. SEPA and the like
Am I missing some downsides of the modern systems and maybe disregarding some major advantages that regular checks have?
No.
Wouldn't the customers and banks benefit from abolishing the antiquated ...
- 162k
18
votes
Please help me with scam?
Don't send any money back to him. This is a complete scam.
He will not be contacting the police; he is a scam artist. Simply stop all communications with him.
Your next step should be to contact the ...
- 115k
18
votes
Extended warranty scam -- should I dispute the credit card transaction?
If I want to get the $2000 back, should I wait to see if he actually
voids the transaction, which is still pending on my credit card? Or
should I go ahead and dispute it?
A person wanted you to trust ...
- 133k
17
votes
Energy accounts fraudulently opened in Texas
Did the people move immediately after? That seems like a lot of work for a few hundred dollars in utilities.
Maybe. Squatting in empty houses, or just opening new utility accounts every couple of ...
- 162k
16
votes
Scam caller asked for last 4 digits of card. Fake number doesn't fool him, does he have my full number?
More likely he had nothing and was trying to get you to read out the entire number "so we can correct it."
Or, as @freiheit suggested, more likely they were trying to use this to ...
- 41.5k
16
votes
Check a bank legitimate
I'm afraid that there is absolutely no way this is legitimate. You've lost the money you've already sent them, do not send any more. Report them with any correspondence you have to local law ...
- 22.6k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible