This is certainly a very unusual blog post for me, but something was done to me that I can not keep silent about. I was scammed, defrauded and taken for a $4,500 ride. So, besides filing a police report, I don't have a great deal of recourse to get my money back. But I do have the power of the internet, and if nothing else, if I can spare someone else from the same fate, that would be something good coming out of this.
So, I am going to publish all the relevant information I have in the hopes that somehow, one of the hackers from ANONYMOUS will come across this and be willing to put their awesome hacking skills to the use of a stranger's worthwhile cause.
If I could somehow get my $4,500 back, that would be a true Christmas miracle. If not, then just tracking them down and passing the information along to the police to aid in their efforts, would be an awesome holiday present as well. And listen, it doesn't have to be someone from ANONYMOUS, anyone who wants to take on this challenge is most welcome.
So, this is how the scam goes. They email you with a job proposition, in this case, because I am a personal assistant and do things like housekeeping, administration, etc., they approached me about cleaning an apartment that are moving into shortly. But first, they need to get the old furniture out and the new furniture in, so they have these local movers and you must pay them on their behalf, be the local "go to" person. So, they mailed me a bank draft, looked totally legit, and I deposited it. Yes, in retrospect, I should have waited for 5 business days to make sure it cleared, but being that I am honest, I tend to think like that and forwarded $4,000 of it to "the movers". There were phone calls and everything looked legit. So I e-transferred it, and yes, 2 days later, I get a phone call from my bank telling me that it was fraudulent and I am on the hook for the $4,500. WTF!?! I don't have that kind of money!! Of course emailed all concerned alerting them to this fact and asking that they rectify the situation, but no one is holding their breath that I will hear back from them.
So, considering that one of the best ways these con artists have of staying in business, is that they rely on people being too embarrassed to say anything publicly for fear of ridicule or humiliation, well, I am way beyond public criticism and intend to expose these frauds. No doubt these email addresses have long since being discarded, but it's worth a try.
I have also kept all the emails, and there is probably a great deal of information from them that can be found by the right person (hacker) so if you are reading this and think you can/want to help, get in touch and I will provide you with all the emails.
So, the original email came from Ben Julius - benjulius6@gmail.com. The mover, Greg emailed from qualitymovingteam@outlook.com and the payment via e-transfer to them. This Greg also called, but it must be some kind of VOIP at 33751293922
I don't know if anything is going to come of this, but I can put it out there to the universe and let the fates decide. I am not greedy, nor do I want any punitive damages paid, I just want to return the $4,500 to my bank and put this learning experience to good use. If in the process I can help the authorities shut these people down and prevent any further hardship on anyone else, that would be the best possible outcome.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, whoever you are that happened to stumble across this unread blog. :)
