This woman’s tale of how she scammed a scammer went viral because it’s simply epic
It’s always satisfying to see a scammer beaten at their own game and we’ve featured a few of them on these pages before.
But this woman’s tale of how she went after a scammer who pretended to be selling her a PS5 – it’s by @_BeeEv over on Twitter – is next level stuff.
It went wildly viral because it’s simply … epic.
1.
How I Scammed A Scammer Part 1:
Ok so boom.
This guy (we’ll call him Henry) reached out to me saying he was selling his ps5 digital edition that his fiancé gifted him because it was the wrong version. He was selling it at the regular price too.— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
2.
I was skeptical at first but he seemed genuine. We agreed to 50% down then 50% on arrival.
It’s Saturday now. After sending me pictures of the ps5, I go ahead & send him $225 through Apple Pay for him to drop it off on Monday at a Staples to ship it.— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
3.
Monday comes and I text him asking if there’s any issue with shipping. He says no but asks if it’s possible that he get the other half of the money. He says his daughter is sick and he ran into unexpected medical bills. I’m chronically ill and disabled, so I get it.
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
4.
I told him I could send the money if he sent a picture of him holding the printed out drop-off confirmation or a shipping receipt, since tracking numbers take 24-48 hours to be able to actually track.
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
5.
He sends a picture of the Staples drop-off package receipt, with the store number, number of packages, & date. I send $225. He says he’ll send me the tracking number when it’s sent to him and to text him on Tuesday if I don’t hear from him. Cool. I’m super excited.
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
7.
I text him Tuesday morning for an update……chile…… pic.twitter.com/uXfgTJxY9P
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
8.
THE TEXT BUBBLES ARE FUCKING GREEN. I check Twitter where he originally reached out, blocked. I reach out using another number. Blocked. Reach out on my husband’s Twitter. Left on read. He scammed me.
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
9.
I call my bank, I call Apple Pay. There’s nothing they can do.
At this point, I’m down bad. I feel stupid. I’m upset. I was moping around the house n shit. DISTRAUGHT. And during a pandemy too?! All I know is pain. pic.twitter.com/CHK01jKWwa— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
10.
It’s Tuesday afternoon now. I decide to reach out again. I tell him he has until 9:30pm to run me my money or I’m taking legal action. He ignores it.
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
11.
I reported his scam to FTC, IC3, and the FDIC. I try reaching out ONE LAST TIME, warning him that if I don’t see the funds in my account by 9:30pm, I promise he’ll never know peace again.
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
12.
9:30 comes & goes. Radio silence. pic.twitter.com/ChEPnYmaH1
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
13.
I told him I’m filing a case and to eat shit. Homeboy decided to read the messages and block me. It was at that exact moment I knew what needed to be done. pic.twitter.com/gpgDc6yVzp
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
14.
He kept changing his Twitter handle to different variations of his actual name. Every time he changed it, I would message him telling him I found him and will always find him lmao
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
15.
Then I remembered he sent me a picture that had the Staples store number.
Time for a reverse search 🙂— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
16.
This is full-fledged investigation now ok? I got my laptop, my phone, a cup of tea, and my notepad.
A special agent, if you will.— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
17.
Turns out there’s only one Henry Beacon (this name is for the purpose of this story only. It’s completely made up) in Maryland, with an address in the same county as the Staples.
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
18.
I used all the names he kept changing his Twitter handle to. And would you look at that, they all pull up the same information with the same aliases.
I found an email too. pic.twitter.com/gHCnawViZk— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
19.
Remember, I promised him I would always find him & he would never know peace again. 🙂
So I sent him this, as one does. pic.twitter.com/WaLD5ZxZxG— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
20.
He then changed his Twitter name to a name he hadn’t used yet, Roberto Williams (also made up by me). Boom. That’s all I needed.
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
21.
Reverse searched and found everything I needed to know. Family members. Their emails. Phone numbers. Addresses. His mortgage. His cars. You name it. I had it. I had two options at this point – file a police report or take matters into my own hands.
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
22.
PA&P Legal has now entered the chat. pic.twitter.com/ZiLfHlVLzB
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
