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I got swindled big time--Linden $ scam!

Maxy Zerbino

By Maxy Zerbino,
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Maxy Zerbino

Maxy Zerbino

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I feel so stupid. I fell for a Linden$ scam inworld, losing myself $500 USD and access to my main avatar accounts! I'm not here to sob or whine about it. I know that even though this scammer was despicable, I have no one to blame for this situation but myself.

I'm writing about it here for two reasons: 1) this scammer used a very interesting technique that I hadn't heard of before, and maybe if I tell my story word will get out to avoid this scam (although most people probably know better anyway as I should have), and 2) I guess I just need to get it off my chest. 

So here's what went down. I saw a group notice advertising CHEAP LINDEN$!!!, and right away, I assumed it was scam/spam. So from the beginning, I should have known better. I IMed the person just to mess with her and waste some of her time, and also to see what she was up to. I told her I needed lindens, quick! Haha. (Joke ended up being on me)

She offered me L$100,000 for $200 USD. Great deal! I KNEW it was too good to be true. Then, she gave me her PayPal address. I told her to send me half first (assuming she wouldn't do it) just to see what she would do. She promptly paid me L$100,000. Just like that. I talked to her for a while she was decently nice and seemed legit. Her profile "checked out" as well, it was over 2 years old, with groups, picks, and all, nothing suspicious. But the bottom line to me was that money talks, there was the L$100,000, right there in my account. So what did my dumb ass do? I paid her $200 US by PayPal. 

The next day, she was still online, and everything was normal. I talked to her for a bit and still, she seemed legit. I assumed that she was merely naive, and somehow earned a bunch of money in SL and didn't know her options for exchanging and withdrawing (and also that she didn't apparently know the true value of the L$). She also had a marketplace store. Not an impressive one (at all), but it appeared that she was engaging in legitimate SL commerce. (You're probably laughing at me right now, and I know, I deserve it! It's amazing how fast money played tricks with my mind... Oh well, I fell for it)

So what did my dumb ass do? I bought another L$150,000 from her for $300 USD. Sent the RL cash straight to her on PayPal. 

I transferred the L$ to two of my alts that I use for commerce and exchange. I actually did cash out L$100,000 (but not the second batch of L$150,000). So at the moment I'm down about $135 US. If I'm held responsible for the L$100,000 which I had cashed out, I'm out $500 US. 

Within minutes, the three alts in question (one of them was my main) were disabled with this message at login on the SL website: 

 

We have placed your account on an Administrative hold.

Before you are able to login again, we would like to talk with you about some unusual activity on your account. Accounts are held as a safety precaution when we have reason to believe they have been misused or compromised. Please provide relevant information that you believe would explain or clarify any incidents that you may have been involved in. You can do this by submitting a case which will notify us that you are available to communicate with.

 

I called LL before submitting the ticket. I just wanted to talk to someone and explain what happened. For once, I can say, the Lindens I talked to were actually very helpful and forthcoming in assisting me. They explained to me exactly what was up without mincing words: the Lindens I bought were "probably" stolen. They told me exactly what information they would need from me in order to get this resolved, and I promptly wrote up the ticket and gave them all the info they requested. It's obvious that the Lindens were doing the right thing in this case. I made a mistake. And in this particular case, the Lindens did detect and put an end to fraudulent activity (but not before I and others were victimized). 

I did submit a dispute with PayPal, but I'm not holding my breath. The money is most likely gone. But I know I brought this on myself with my impulsiveness. 

I can only hope that I get my avatar accounts back. I know that it will take a few days at best, probably longer, and I'm even prepared for the possibility that for whatever reason, I won't get them back... that would suck, but I'll deal. I know I should have been smarter in this situation. 

Anyway, blah, blah, blah. I can only hope that by writing this I've saved at least one person from being as gullible as I was in this situation. For those of you who are laughing at me, I totally deserve it, and I hope it makes you feel better about yourself. Thanks for listening! 

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Dilbert Dilweg

Dilbert Dilweg

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Lol Yea sorry you got nailed. I would have never done it.  Several years ago I was approached by somone who just wanted to give me lindens. He said he got them from an account of somone whom is no longer in SL. I told the person no and reported it right away

The old story goes. If it seems too good to be true it is probably is and more than likely fraudulent when it comes to free or cheap lindens

 

I think you need an award. lol

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wiked Anton

wiked Anton

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actually, it goes " if it seems too good to be true, it probably is" and NEVER EVER accept gifts from strangers, and probably not even those your knnow , in case the got a grudge against you. NOTHING is free......NOTHING. oh, and sorry you fell for this. I have seen every scamm going, this one too, but i can smell them a mile away. you did too, you just gotta trust your senses. they would have saved you money AND a heap of hurt

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Maxy Zerbino

Maxy Zerbino

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Haha, yeah, that's the thing... it started out with me KNOWING it was a scam for a fact. 

It makes a good story, even though I'm the butt of the joke. My friends have been very supportive, and I'm not sure I deserve even that lol... but the worst is over. 

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Melita Magic

Melita Magic

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Oldsters can possibly scam too (though it's unusual - usually those guys make new profiles, disposable ones) or even hack someone else's old account. They can also buy accounts I think.  Right - can't people purchase other people's accounts legally through LL?

Sorry this happened to you. And it seems like they went way out of their way for what, 500 USD? Unless you weren't the only victim.

Is this called the Ponzi scheme?  I know scams all have names.

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Maxy Zerbino

Maxy Zerbino

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LOL Touché.....

 

It's tempting to blame LL for this one, but the fault for my sitch lies with me as I've admitted repeatedly throughout my posts. We don't have the full facts about this scam so I probably should have been more skeptical about the "password" rumor.

 

My story's pathetic, I know, but I've told it in hopes that it will help someone somewhere.

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Ceka Cianci

Ceka Cianci

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Melita Magic wrote:

Oldsters can possibly scam too (though it's unusual - usually those guys make new profiles, disposable ones) or even hack someone else's old account. They can also buy accounts I think.  Right - can't people purchase other people's accounts legally through LL?

Sorry this happened to you. And it seems like they went way out of their way for what, 500 USD? Unless you weren't the only victim.

Is this called the Ponzi scheme?  I know scams all have names.

i think one term for this one was called leading a horse to water and making them drink it..

there are a few terms for selling something to someone that knows something is up..

i delivered car parts for a little while to get away from the ranch.. those used car salesmen guys used to tell me all kinds of silly stuff when i would drop parts off and hang around for a little bit..

salesmen love to show off..another one which was funny was..the easiest person to sell to was a salesmen..because all you have to do is be a salesman and work on their ego..because they don't want to look like they can't afford something to another salesmen hehehehe

it was something like that..

 

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Ceka Cianci

Ceka Cianci

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Maxy Zerbino wrote:

LOL Touché.....

 

It's tempting to blame LL for this one, but the fault for my sitch lies with me as I've admitted repeatedly throughout my posts. We don't have the full facts about this scam so I probably should have been more skeptical about the "password" rumor.

 

My story's pathetic, I know, but I've told it in hopes that it will help someone somewhere.

there are a lot of tricky and cruel people in the world..we just have to use those vibes..and lessons we get taught from experiences like this..

you won't ever get bit twice by the same thing thats for sure hehehehe

we've all been took here and there..you are not alone lol

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MoiselleErin Teardrop

MoiselleErin Teardrop

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Yeah people forget that the only secure way to buy L$ is thru their own LL exchange.

Even though SL is a virtual world, the L$ do have actual real life value. Not that you can liquidate them to real life money that easy but it IS a form of currency. Thinking you would get cheap L$ is like thinking someone is gonna sell you a dollar bill for three quarters.

If someone is just giving you L$, it is not really a problem unless it is a larger amount. I have given strangers inworld a couple hundred L$ just to help them with something small. I have given friends L$ and friends have given me L$ but not a whole lot. Kind of like in RL when you might be like, "Hey Jill, can you spare a couple dollars cause i want to get a soda" or something frivilous.

Don't feel too bad about getting scammed though, it happens to a lot of people. Happened to me once. Wasn't buying L$, but was suppose to get L$ from someone. I kind of knew it was a bad deal but I was able to afford the loss if that happened. Given the nature of the deal, it is not something that LL can do anything about anyways.

You just have to keep in mind that if you are going to take any kind of gamble with your money or L$, make sure it is not more than you can easily afford to lose.

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Maxy Zerbino

Maxy Zerbino

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UPDATE: I got my accounts restored, so I'm happy! This goes to show there are cases where the Lindens act fast if all the facts are in order. (I provided them with a scan of my passport plus tons of documentation, chatlogs, etc)

And as for my RL money, PayPal has the scammer's funds on hold--It seems likely that I'll get the refund back within two weeks or so (but it's not for certain, this depends on the results of PP's investigation. The facts are in my favor, but you never know!) 

Thanks everyone for listening and for the supportive messages. Never again! 

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  • 4 weeks later...
Maxy Zerbino

Maxy Zerbino

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Another update--another happy one--PayPal refunded all my money! And the scammer got PayPal-banned. So all is right in the universe, and I'm wiser for it. Shouldn't have done it in the first place, of course, but what a story! Thanks everyone for the supportive posts and advice. 

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MasoDevotina

MasoDevotina

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Well, lesson learned I guess :)

But it's good to know that PayPal takes action when required, and I am happy to know that the scammer got banned by PayPal, it may cause more trouble than he is aware right now, especially if that account was verified with RL data.
Probably PayPal makes some more investigations in case that PayPal account is not backed up with RL data, and since PayPal is a bank they got the same duties like a bank has (this money has to be considered black money ...)

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Maxy Zerbino

Maxy Zerbino

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I know that some people have had problems with PayPal, as described here in this thread and elsewhere, but I've never had a problem... I've had to request a few refunds in the past, and they were always taken care of in a fair if not timely manner. LL and PayPal handled this situation very well, I'm thankful. 

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Phil Deakins

Phil Deakins

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MasoDevotina wrote:

Well, lesson learned I guess
:)

But it's good to know that PayPal takes action when required, and I am happy to know that the scammer got banned by PayPal, it may cause more trouble than he is aware right now, especially if that account was verified with RL data.

Probably PayPal makes some more investigations in case that PayPal account is not backed up with RL data, and
since PayPal is a bank
they got the same duties like a bank has (this money has to be considered black money ...)

PayPal isn't a bank and doesn't have to abide by banking laws. That's why many PayPal users have problems with them.

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Dilbert Dilweg

Dilbert Dilweg

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FROM WIKIPEDIA,

Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal, has stated that PayPal is not a bank because it does not engage in fractional-reserve banking Rather, PayPal's funds that have not been disbursed are kept in commercial interest-bearing checking accounts.

In the United States, PayPal is licensed as a money transmitter on a state-by-state basis PayPal is not classified as a bank in the United States, though the company is subject to some of the rules and regulations governing the financial industry including Regulation E consumer protections and the USA PATRIOT Act.

In 2007, PayPal Europe was granted a European Union banking license, and is regulated as a bank by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).

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