If you spend a lot of time on the Internet, you may think that you are too smart to fall for scammers. But the reality is that everyone is susceptible—even people like my online friend who just lost a ton of money to a scam involving a fake Tumblr employee.
How the scam happened
A friend of mine, who gave permission to share her story but did not want to be named, recently received a response to a Tumblr post accusing her of fraud, claiming that users were mass reporting her account, and jeopardizing her for $500 USD (about $700 CAD). The response stated that she would need to send them a direct message (DM) to resolve the issue.
When my friend contacted them and they told her that her account was being massively accused of fraud, she was on line to get the money and her Tumblr account would be IP banned. She was assigned to speak with someone posing as Tumblr's Ari Levin on Discord. Levine is the head of revenue and growth at Automattic, and the Discord account included his first, last name and profile photo.
The fake Levin explained to her that a number of users accuse her of fraud. Although there was no evidence that she had committed any fraud, my friend was told that she had to send $500 to Tumblr's security team to have the bulk message removed, and it would be returned to her within 15 minutes of being sent.
My friend, afraid of losing the community she had built on Tumblr, agreed to send $500 in Bitcoin to the scammers through Cash App. (It's worth noting here that requests to receive money in cryptocurrency can be a major warning sign that something is a scam.)
The scammers then demanded more money, claiming that the Assurance team needed more money to clear the account. She explained that she had no more money and the fake Ari Levine told her that since it was a scam, it involved federal and state laws. They even called my friend via Discord and spoke to her, explaining that they would be filing a report with state law enforcement, that the money was 100% refundable, and even showed a picture of a bank transfer being sent back to her for the original amount plus the additional amount they requested.
She called me and told me what was happening, and I suggested to her that it was a scam.
At this point, the fake Levin became more aggressive and threatened her with police intervention until she blocked the account. She reported the accounts to Tumblr and is considering police involvement, but lost money.
Tumblr is aware of these scams and has scam warnings on help site.
Warning to others
Admittedly, my friend shouldn't have fallen for it, but it's easy to see how scammers took advantage of her fear at that point. While this particular incident happened on Tumblr, similar scams can happen on any social media website where you've built a community. A friend of mine has been an avid Tumblr user for the past several decades and has developed friends, a community, and even family there. And unfortunately, my friend was going through some tough financial times and had turned to her friends on Tumblr for money through messages in the past.
It even seems possible that my friend was targeted on Tumblr. My friend is also a very avid Twitter user, but the scammers have only gotten to Tumblr. This could have been a coincidence, but it is unclear.
In any case, it is important for everyone to be careful on the Internet. How Mentions on Tumblr Help Page“With the exception of official Tumblr accounts and our support email, staff will never message you, reply to your messages, or notify your account. Additionally, Tumblr will never ask for money outside of Premium subscriptions and what's sold on TumbrMart.” Most online platforms have similar rules that prohibit employees from asking for money.
You may be afraid of losing something important, but think before you send money. And it is important to remember that anyone can cheat, so you should always be careful.
Canadian Resources
Because these types of scams can affect anyone, we've compiled a list of resources to help Canadian scam victims. Canadians can report fraud or cybercrime online at Newly launched RCMP reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca. They can also report it by calling the toll-free number: 1-888-495-8501.
The CRA website also details potential signs of fraud. It could be a scam if someone:
- “Demands immediate payment.
- “Uses threatening language
- “Sends you a link and asks you to click on it.
- “Requests personal or financial information
- “Requests payment with cryptocurrency or gift cards”
The RCMP also has some advice if you are the victim of a scam:
- “Remain calm and gather all possible information about the incident.
- “Report this to your local police and financial institutions.
- “Visit Report cybercrime and fraud and click “Complain online”. Upload any evidence you have of the incident. This may include images or screenshots, proof of transaction or receipts, and text messages and emails.”
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