The Scammer who Refused to Quit

If the freelance job sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  The listing indicated the potential client wanted to find a supplier for PC’s, air conditioners and generators.  I applied and the client contacted me, giving me their email address.  This is a red flag.  Neither you nor the client is supposed to go outside the freelance site.

I ignored it, but used my gmail account, not my usual email account.  The potential client gave me a very generic equipment list and I asked for verification of their company and identity.  I received a picture of a bank building in what appeared to be in Africa.   I smelled a rat, but wondered what the scam was.  I asked for a more specific equipment list.  The potential client asked for proof of my expertise.  I completed a quick search for generators, which I emailed with a link to the generator site.

My potential client sent an equipment list with the labeling they wanted on the equipment, not the specific brand of PC or brand of generator.  Confirmed as a scam but what kind?  They wanted my bank account to wire money to pay me.  Ah, now it’s clear, they want my account to take money out, not put it in.

I told them I only use PayPal.  They came back with okay but then a week later emailed me, saying they didn’t use PayPal.  Their shipper could pay via check to me or the supplier.  I decided to quit the game entirely, refusing any payment for the goods since I only agreed to source the stuff, not buy it.  In addition, I mentioned they had not confirmed their company or identify and smelled of fraud.

It’s not my first run in with a scammer.  I still have a check from a scammer, as a souvenir.  I received it in the mail many months after the initial contact due to an address error on the envelope.  And long after the scammer and their email address disappeared.   It’s supposed to be payment for handling a voice over project, the entire recording project.  No clue what the scam was.  I wonder how the scammers come up with this stuff.