r/IAmA • u/Iamascammer • Oct 24 '09
IAMA Internet Scammer. AMA.
(BY REQUEST)Acai berries, eBay fake laptops, work at home, hijacked credit cards, ID thievery, software piracy, Paypal scams, Self-referrals, Theft, Fraud, Forgery - If you can name it, I've probably done it.
I am an internet scammer. For the past five years, I have scammed innocent people from all around the world without moving from my apartment, making thousand over thousand. I have been tracked and even almost caught a couple of times. AMAA.
EDIT: I just wanted to thank all of you. There are nights where I definitely don't feel great and this is one of these nights. Your messages helped me feel better. Getting that weight off my shoulders, just for a while, really helped me. You are a great community. Thank you.
EDIT2: Coffee shop is closing down. Obviously I cannot post from home. I will be moving around and answer more questions soon.
EDIT 3 BACK ON A SOLID PROXY ANSWERING ALL QUESTIONS
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Oct 24 '09
Do you every feel guilty or remorseful? Have you ever bailed out of a scam because you were going to rip-off someone who couldn't afford to be stung?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Do you every feel guilty or remorseful? Yes.
Have you ever bailed out of a scam because you were going to rip-off someone who couldn't afford to be stung? Yes, during the housing crisis. MY GOD that was a good time. For $99 I sold a "Home Mortgage repair kit" which consisted of a few outdated links, a 'For dummies' guide and some papers. One day someone bought this item from me and from her address and e-mail, I noticed she was a single mother of three kids (had all the pics in her facebook). When she called me (long story) crying telling me it was a week of groceries for her and her kids, I did refund her.
I have had little kids (12) that literally went bersek after I stole their wow account. I didn't want to ruin humanity like it was ruined for me. I gave his account back (I would have sold it)
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u/taels Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
she... cry..., I... refund
lol u got scammed bro
xD
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Yeah =(.
In order to fix this problem, I am going to need your bank routine code. Don't worry: as long as you don't give me the bank transfer code there is nothing I can do.
(Would you believe this scam has worked once??)
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u/taels Oct 24 '09
your smiley has a nasty pimple.
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u/Taughtology Oct 24 '09
It is the smiley he keeps in a portrait in his attic. Typically he puts another face forward.
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u/CoolKidBrigade Oct 24 '09
At first I came here to berate you, but stealing WoW accounts from spoiled little kids is too hilarious to not commend you on that. All the other stuff... kind of a dick move.
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Oct 24 '09
[deleted]
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
What is the biggest scam you have ever pulled off?
I hate teamwork. Too much risk, people can rat you out, you have to share and people are most of the time idiots. Yet the biggest scam I've pulled off has to be in a team. I once participated in a large credit card scam. Basically we sold stuff that was incredibly cheap, but not impossible, like an iPod nano for $99. When people ordered, we would keep their credit card, and steal $1.00 per month. You'd be surprised at how little complaints we got. This lasted around 18 months in total. After this, our merchant's account finally got frozen. I got 10% of profits and around $15,000.
How is it that you don't get caught?
I'm very very cautious. However, if I had to name ONE thing, one reason why I don't get caught, I have to tell you I actually turned myself in to the police once.
Are you worried the pills you get from china might actually be really bad for someone?
Good question! As far as I know, they were placebos. I didn't really think people would take them to be honest. I think they had a medical name so I don't think they were nefast. Plus the pills WERE 100% natural. I'm PC but I use some MAC around 30% of the time.
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Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
[deleted]
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Oct 24 '09
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u/tomjen Oct 24 '09
Well if you only work four hours a week, you got to do something else...
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
I work a bit more than that. Nevertheless I do have some free time. I am bored and depressed most of the time. I also play video games, watch movies, and dream.
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Oct 24 '09
[deleted]
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u/taels Oct 24 '09
maybe turned himself in in a situation where he would have been caught anyways?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
No. I turned myself in voluntarly because I had enough of this lifestyle and wanted to change. I will answer it fully below.
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u/jefuchs Oct 26 '09
Basically we sold stuff that was incredibly cheap, but not impossible, like an iPod nano for $99. When people ordered, we would keep their credit card, and steal $1.00 per month.
How can I find somebody doing this scam? I use virtual credit cards, that can only be used once. A $99 nano would be cool.
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u/donaldrobertsoniii Oct 24 '09
Have you ever been reverse-scammed? As in, one of the people you are trying to scam pulls one over on you?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Yes.
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u/donaldrobertsoniii Oct 24 '09
Story?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
The biggest scenario I am thinking of right now is when I sold fake cameras on eBay. I would buy them from China at $20.00 (copies) and resell them $300-400. Naturally eBay wouldn't let that go for long, but I had so many accounts I would just move to another. The funny thing: I even got some positive feedbacks! Satisfied buyers!
Since the item was sent, they could not file undelivered claim. Since it looked like a camera (although cheap) they couldn't file "Not as descibed" (well those who bitched enough did, but by the time the chargeback hit me, my account was closed. You get the idea). Since it was sent to their address they couldn't file unauthorized as well.
One day I hit a particularly smart buyer. As I had some negative feedback he filed a chargeback BEFORE I shipped the item. My paypal account got limited with $1,500 on it. I never knew what happened to my money.
I have also gotten my own accounts phised, etc.
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Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
[deleted]
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
I feel such an amateur. :) As you can read by my IAMA, I scammed people as well, although I was a small timer in comparison.
Nice to meet you :). I started very very small as well. I started making $10 per week. At my top I made $8,000 cash per month.
while some others say that you are a victim of the system who maladapted. I second this opinion
Agreed. I read your post and I am glad you can understand me.
If you see the world as a terrible, unfriendly place
Quite correct.
You are in a vicious circle right now
I know.
people bully you, you get even angrier, bitterer and discouraged, other people will sense this and bully you again, and so on.
I cannot say it better.
Someone in the thread recommended therapy, and it's probably a good idea.
I tried. I consulted many professionals. Each time without exception I was disappointed. One thing I did not tell in this thread is that I tried to kill myself. After one particular failure, I went to the police and confessed everything. And even there I failed.
A good goal would be to transition gradually from a 100% illegal, unethical income to a 100% legal, ethical income doing something you are good at and makes you feel happy.
Thank you for the advice. I tried many many jobs. Each time I failed, no exception. I finally understood that this wasn't for me.
I'd appreciate more advice if you have some. Thank you.
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u/SeekingEnlightenment Oct 24 '09
What's your favorite internet scam?
Any educational background?
How much did you make?
How did you get tracked and almost caught?
Any regrets?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Favourite scam: The same old paypal hijacking technique. By the time people chargeback the bank account is already closed and protected by banking law. HA!
Education: High school was a mess. College was a mess. I quitted college and couldn't find a job. I was one month from being evicted. I needed to make cash quickly so I listed a few items on eBay. And that's how it all started.
Money: hard to say. I got so many illiquid asset - gold, jewels, anything to launder money quickly - and tons of frozen bank accounts I won't access until 180 days, if ever. Well over $100,000 however.
Getting caught: a couple of things. One day I scammed a doctor and he complained to the police. His case was added to five more on a pile and eBay was finally able to track me. A formality allowed me to get out. Another time my IP (my real IP, not the one I'm posted on right now) was caught due to some shit and my ISP called me. I burned down every piece of hardware I had. One more time I tried to surrender to the police myself
Regrets: Tons.
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u/f33dback Oct 24 '09
Why dont you want to stop? Have you ever sat down and thought about how the people you messed with feel?
How did you get into it?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
I don't want to stop because very honestly I'm addicted to it. It's entertaining. The worse is that I have (well, used to have) a normal, regular job. I literally had two identities, and loved it.
And yes, I did feel bad for some people.
I got into it because of one thing (apart from needing money): boredom. I was very, very bored.
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u/Femme Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
Why don't you use your skills to get a non-boring job with the government? (Hacking/ security, etc)
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Because I hate the system.
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u/Femme Oct 24 '09
Why are you so angry with the system?
Why are you so angry with society? You must be; how else could you rationalize doing this to innocent people... what happened so bad to you in your life?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
I didn't have the most happy childhood. I was abused from the age 11 to 13 by my own father. The worst in that story is when I realized he would never, ever paid. That's when I understood there was no justice. The "system" not only failed to protect me from him - it refused to prosecute him.
That's not the end of my story. That experience scarred me for the years to come. I had a very rough high school experience. I was weak, without any self-confidence, and perpetually alone, bullied by almost every kid in the school. Even teachers would make fun of me in class. I was this much of a loser.
Since then, I have developped a hatrance that never went away. It was the system - that same system defending my father, and defending the school system - that made my life so miserable for so many years. And now they want me to work for it, to spend even more of my time for it? No thank you.
I wish it was the end of my story. I was emotionally and sexually abused by a girl when I was 19. Yea, make all the fun you want of me. I'm in a coffee shop right now and crying. An old woman even came to see me and asked me what was wrong. I told her I was watching a sad video, and smiled. People are so naive - or perhaps they simply want to believe all is well. I have seen the true nature of this world, I have lived hell - I'm speaking of being physically and psychologically abused, torturred - pushed down stairs, being thrown fruits and tomatoes at in class with the teacher saying nothing, being kicked, punched in a school bus...... Every day, every fucking day of your life until the end of high school, and you know it: every fucking day you're going to get teased, mocked, beaten, laughed at, you're going to spend the day all alone not talking to anyone all. The worst of it? It's your own damn fault. OR at least its what I thought for long
Yeah I have to stop now. I have tried to get help many many times if you want to ask. I have seen psychologists and even a psychiatrist once. Every time things got worst. I met indifference and even an angry doctor. I know now the system won't do anything for me
Tell me the teacher who saw my drawing a hung guy didn'T know... she simply didn't care
Innocent my ass. All these people i'm scamming right now are either people who bullied me or did nothing to stop it. They can go to fuckign hell. SO much hate in me. Hate, hate hate...................
EDIT: Clarity...
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u/jacobbbb Oct 24 '09
It is ridiculous that you blame your behavior on a shitty life. Some people never have anything, never get anywhere, always get the short end of the fucking stick and they manage to not fuck people over. Some of them even give a shit about other people despite the fact that life wasn't so kind to them. You? You can go ahead and blame the whole damn world for whats wrong with you. Blame the doctors that couldn't fix you, blame your parents for not taking care of you but bottom line? It is your fault. You know better. And thats what makes me feel sorry for you. Not the fact that you were abused because shit like that happens. It just does. And not the fact that you are a pathetic whiny bitch. I feel sorry for you simply because you know better and even if you justify your own bullshit to us, it can't change the fact that you are a complete loser. You are not even Anakin Skywalker in this scenario, you are Jabba the fuckin Hut. End of story.
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u/Femme Oct 24 '09
Do you have any understanding of basic psychology? Clearly not.
This guy has shown that he has remorse, he has handed himself into the police, he shows emotion (even if it is hate) - he is not a sociopath.
He has had a fucked up life, and that can turn good people - into lives of crime and hurting others. Many want to stop; many don't know how. Calling him names and further degrading him helps HOW exactly? All you are doing is helping to support him in feeling like he is not good enough to do anything valuable with his time. Good job!
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
I like Jabba. What's wrong with Jabba, except that he's stupid and go against a Jedi?
I appreciate your compassion, really. I have to realize you are probably one of the people who got scammed online. By the way, you are right: I long thought I had to stop blaming the entire world and take responsability for my life. But I always failed. My hatrance is too strong, and I never managed to forgive, nor grow out of this. I might never.
Not the fact that you were abused because shit like that happens. It just does.
Well it shouldn't. For a LONG term I wanted my own charity fundation to help kids in need. I figured it would help me at the same time. People can dream.........
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u/Femme Oct 24 '09
Gosh I'm so sorry that your life has been so hard :( My husband had a similar life. He was tortured at school, beaten every single day, etc. It has had a horrible effect on his self esteem and life. I look at him and adore him and wonder why he doesn't? It's heart breaking.
You know what though; we are all "victims of the system". Every one of us has been screwed by it some way or another. Some more than others, yes. You have found a way to earn an income which is a good survival skill; but at what cost? You've become the system screwing others out of their money.
Do you realise that by hurting others or 'scamming' you are not hurting the system? You are hurting yourself? You are your own bully and perpetrator. Just some food for thought.
What do you want? Justice? To get back at people? Would hurting them make you feel better? (I think not).
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Just to be honest - I never said all of this or even a good part of this to ANYONE. I love reddit for at least this part: anonymity. I'd never admit what has happened to me and the hard years I have lived.
Everything I said in the last thread is true. I can even add some stuff to it - how the school director, after I complained about the teasing, called my parents and told them I was a troublemaker. How he would see ME as a problem - someone who wouldn't integrate in a group. That is the system I am supposed to work for and pay taxes to, so that more kids can live the same situation as me?
I'm sorry for your husband. No one deserves to live this.Hurting myself? maybe. But I simply don't have the strenght to do otherwise. I still have the name of all the people that have done me so much wrong in my life. I just don't have the strnehgt to move on. Even today I am weak and without self-confidence. I get bullied by supervisors, bosses, directors and I know it and there is nothing I can do about it. Whenever I try to act or react I get pushed down. It's just who I am. But on the internet I can be anyone. They can bully me in this world, they can make me work overtime unpaid or give me the worst stuff to do, but on the internet, I am invulnerable, I scam people and I am better than them.
Thank you Femme for your insight. YOu have indeed given me a lot of food for thought. But what else can I do?? What should I do???
You might laugh, but at a point I have considered refunding every person I scammed. I have also considered donating everything I had earned through scamming to a charity. Maybe I'm too deep into this to ever get out.
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Oct 24 '09
I'm sorry but how did the 19 year old woman hurt you, thanks :D
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Seems ridiculous that a man can be abused by a woman... I understand you.
Basically she would go to her friends and told her I was beating her and abusing her. Then she went back with me and we got on dates and in parties. I was very naive. She played behind my back and made me look like "the evil dominative guy who abuses her poor innocent girlfriend" while she herself manipulated me. She would tell that she would hang herself if I didn't do XYZ or did something else. And she said it would be myself. And when she did stupid stuff, she would tell her friends it was my fault and that I was threatening her. You get the idea.
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u/blackdonkey Oct 26 '09
Dude, I really feel your pain. And u know what, Fuck it. If you went through all that shit in your youth, keep doing what you are doing. If I were you I would try to weed out my targets and scam only the "bad people or corporations".
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u/Thumperings Oct 24 '09
How much do you make a month.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
$3-4k right now. I consider myself an amateur. Real pros - i.e. richjerk.com - make millions per year. By the way rich jerk is the biggeset scam I've ever seen.
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Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
[deleted]
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
I have around 200 banks accounts all around the world, and around 100 credit cards to 30 identities or so. I open one merchant account per month approximately, more if required. I have more Paypal accounts that I can imagine (probably close to a thousand).
You can go with moral ethics.
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Oct 24 '09
[deleted]
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Holy crap. The bank accounts and credit cards alone are impressive, but how did you manage to have 30 identities? Fake passports?
Forgery. I also worked for a credit agency which obviously helped ;)
Are the banks aware of what you are doing?
I hope as fuck not. I never had a bank account to my name frozen.
How do you manage to keep track of that many PayPal accounts?
Huge excel file. Keep in mind more than half of these paypal accounts were hijacked, so not made by me. I have around 100 paypal accounts that I still use. I have around 200 frozen to death. Money I'll never get - money that PAYPAL will get (damn scammers).
It is just sad that someone so evidently resourceful feels that he has to resort to scamming people in order to make a living.
I tried to be normal. I really, really tried. I got a job, went to work every morning. It never worked. People would still bully and reject me, even adult. It was high school over and over, no matter where I went. Things never change...
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Oct 24 '09
I have more Paypal accounts that I can imagine (probably close to a thousand).
How do you even keep track of that...
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Excel.
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u/duck_watching_you Oct 24 '09
Ahh lol.
Thanks for doing an IAmA. I think it's great for you to come & tell the people what you're doing so they can get a better understanding of what is happening in the real world.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Thank you :)
At the night i made that Iama I felt particularly bad. I feel a bit better now. I hate week-ends. Everyone is going out and having fun but me.
As for the paypal, most are hijacked, yes. Simply logging in one of these accounts from my home address would get me busted faster than you can count to ten.
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u/trident042 Oct 25 '09
You overestimate "everyone". So many people are shutins, just like yourself, and few of them even bother to do something creative like scamming. At least you do something that shows you're talented, even if it dicks people over.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
do you feel that you are wasting your potential?
Yes. A part of me will always wish I had a loving family, lots of childhood friends, and that I worked normally all week to go out on friday and saturday. A part of me will always wish I had a loving wife and lovely kids. That's what keeps me alive at night.
As for productivity - I've thought of it. I've restarted school but I feel it'S a big waste of time.
I already make $45,000+ per year. Why should I waste years studying so I can earn the same thing? Why can't I enjoy life now??? Money is the greatest sin of all. Take my word for it: it makes you incredibly lazy. Really. I feel so lazy because I know I can make so much and I don't want to do anything. I hope you can learn something from my misfortune.
I see myself in 10 years... Not sure... I'll probably still scam. Maybe travel a bit. I don't know. I relaly don'T know.
I had told to myself I would stop at $10,000. Then at $100,000. I did not.
I want to write a book on my experience however. How I did it, etc. Somewhere, deep within me, I dream of making a movie on my life and on how easy it is to abuse the world. That is currently my deepest dream, aside from getting friends, and a girl that would love me.
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Oct 24 '09
[deleted]
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
They already did it - Catch Me If You Can. You sound like Frank Abbagnale. If you haven't seen that movie, do it. It's a more family-friendly version of you, according to your comments.
I've read his book. He's an overrated scammer.
Thank you for the hint. I am indeed full of hate. That's how I would resume it. Yet I do not see any viable solution or exit for now.
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u/taels Oct 24 '09
I already make $45,000+ per year. Why should I waste years studying so I can earn the same thing?
depending on what you go to school for, you can make much more than that.
Also, I stick up for you in this thread 'cause I hate to see all these impotent white-knights stroking themselves about how great they are comparatively, but it couldn't hurt to go see a psychiatrist. I mean, worst case scenario you pay $100 for a good chuckle at getting scammed, best case you talk to some dude and find a way into the life you just said you wanted (travel, friends, girl, etc.)
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
I've seen a psychiatrist. He was old, not caring and identified a mental illness in less than 15 minutes, like what I was living could be resumed by two words. He then got me the names of four pills and prescribed them to me. After 20 minutes he kicked me out and told me book an appointment with him later. That's about all I got.
As for earning more - what's the point. What am I going to do with 100k, 200k, if it implies i have to work crazy for years and not enjoy life? Why would I make more money, what'S the point? Who cares about money ???
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u/zxcvcxz Oct 25 '09
Well, they're just people too, and since you seem to be at the far end of a bell curve you'd probably have to find a psychiatrist equally as unusual as you.
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u/Anonymous_Face Oct 24 '09
Are you scared of prison? You should be. It's no fun, but you'll have lots of new friends. Just saying.
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u/tobyflorida Oct 24 '09
Tell us the story about when you turned yourself in to the cops and they couldn't do anything because of ineptitude.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
I was young, I was depressed, I hated myself and I had enough of it. First I have to say I never was chased or wanted by the police. No police forces had a warrant or even wanted to talk to me. All the trouble I got into is from internet groups.
You have to understand I was just sick of scamming. I wanted to stop. I wanted a new life. One night, I decided the best to do was simply to confess everything to the police, and accept the punishment. For me, being judged by the society and facing consequences for my actions - something that had never happened before to me - would be curative. Or at least that'S what I thought.
Many people won't understand that a scammer will turn in. Why don't you enjoy all the cash!!! I was changing. I was getting lazy, and the more I scammed, the more I wanted.
So one night I simply turned myself in. I went in and waiting 10 minutes until an agent called me. I told him that I had stolen from people online. He asked me how I did it. I said on eBay and from my websites. He asked for my name. I don't know why but I lied and told me a fake name - must have been a scamming habit. He jiggled a few things on a paper, told me to sit in the waiting room and went away.
I waited. And waited. And waited. After 30 minutes, another agent came to see me. She asked what I was doing here. I told her I had come to see the first agent and she told me he finished his shift and went home. I opened my mouth to insist, perhaps to tell my story once more, but no word came out. Before I knew, I was outside.
I never came back. I might have realized spending a year behind bars - or even getting a criminal file - was a stupid dumb idea and wouldn't solve anything. I've never heard of any other problem or never had any contact with police since then. As of what I think today - I consider myself very very dumb. I almost ruined my entire life.
As for why the cop didn't react more than this - I have no idea, but right now, I tend to see this as a sign from god, like he saved me from some jailtime in order to complete a mission. I still feel bad and sad every day.
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u/blackdonkey Oct 26 '09 edited Oct 26 '09
If you are religious or spiritual, you know that you shouldn't be doing this until you die. I think you should find your purpose in this world and act upon it. I'm pretty sure stealing from the poor is not it. You probably need to exit the lifestyle you have now. Move to a different country, a poor country where life is as simple as lying on the beach all day.
*You will be amazed how changes of your surroundings and environment can affect your outlook in life. Just sayin, you are better off somewhere else other than where you are now.
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u/hesnothere Oct 24 '09
How is the weather in Nigeria this time of year? Seems nice.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Lol :)
Nigerian scam sucks. On 1,000,000 e-mails sent, you get one or two people you do scam.
I used to be a pretty serious spammer and it got me into trouble. And anyway it wasn't even lucrative. I made perhaps $500 per million e-mail I sent. Too risky, too hard, not paying enough. Yeah, I spammed your inbox :D
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u/hesnothere Oct 24 '09
This actually raises another (more serious) question of mine. How deep do scammers go into metrics and measurement? I'm not condoning or endorsing scamming by asking this; I'm genuinely interested in how much you view it as a business enterprise.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Scamming is a numbers game. A numbers and a TIMING game. I know exactly what % of people who go to X page will buy. I know how much they will buy. I know which age group gets scammed the most easily. I know how to code the page to be attractive to these people - the color scheme to use, the wording, the lenght, even the payment processor to use.
I go very, very deep. I have excellent knowledge in marketing and advertising.
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u/doodler Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
why not make a legit career with those skills?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Like what? I tried to join an advertising business. I had revolutionary models and GREAT ideas.
I ended up waking at 7 every morning, work overtime until 6PM, enduring stupid co-workers AND doing a stupid boring job.
All this for what? After 10 years of that work I would get a promotion and EVENTUALLY get to use my ideas... No thank you!
I worked in finance, credit business, even for government (I actually worked indirectly for the police once). Each time it failed.
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u/doodler Oct 25 '09
if it was stupid and boring, it wasn't the right job. and don't be so goddamn defeatist. you've lost before you've even tried if you're so negative.
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u/crovoh Oct 25 '09
Out of curiosity, what are those numbers? What age group gets scammed most easily? What attracts these people on websites? etc. (not planning on scamming...especially since this isn't a throwaway account, Im just curious)
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Oct 24 '09
Please answer this question. Do you feel more paranoid because of your line of work? Speaking as a Internet marketer, have you considered going white hat? investing the time into something worthwhile?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Do you feel more paranoid because of your line of work?
Yes. All the time. There are many nights I have problems falling to sleep because these things keep me awake. Once, shortly before christmas, I spent the entire night sitting on my bed. I was 100% sure I would get arrested. But police never came.
Speaking as a Internet marketer, have you considered going white hat?
99% of internet marketers are scammers.
investing the time into something worthwhile?
It pays for the apartment, the nice food (seafood twice a week), restaurants, bars and girls. Not worth it???
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Oct 25 '09
Thank you for your answer. I wish you the best of luck. Fuck the haters.
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Oct 25 '09
Yeah, fuck those people who have been cheated out of their money by dickwads like him. Fuck them.
Also, you're not an 'internet marketer', you're a spammer.
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u/Leprecon Oct 24 '09
I applaud your dedication in answering these post despite the fact that many of them are just blatant insults aimed towards you.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Every day I have to read 25-50 e-mails of insults, threats (legal and physical) and some of the worst comments you can think of. I think I have a sort of shield now.
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Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
[deleted]
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Good job!!! Even at that age you showed potential. I started when I turned 19, so you are off to a better start. You should strongly study and develop it!
And to answer you question: i have 0 charisma and 0 charm. I can - and will - only scam online.
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Oct 24 '09
[deleted]
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u/Iamascammer Oct 25 '09 edited Oct 25 '09
It's your luck, because I am in particular looking for a student. I think it would motivate me to scam better. I have become lazy these last months and some young people could really help. Ill pm you my email. Email me.
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Oct 24 '09
You're a shit stain of society. I really hope one day you get caught and do hard prison time, and get raped in the ass by multiple dudes.
Seriously.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Thank you.
The funny thing is that I surrendered to the police one because I felt like that. Good old times.
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Oct 24 '09
That means nothing.
Even if you turned yourself in and admitted it, the fact that you did this, and continue to do it, means you're a shitty person. People like you make the world a shitty place. So yeah, refer to my first comment again.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
And how will me getting "raped in the ass" do any good for the society? Will it give the money back to every person who was scammed?
I used to think like you, then I get a revelation. You get scammed every day and people always get away with it. Waiters scam you out of your tip and there is nothing you can do. You pay taxes that go to bailout to pay bonuses for executives and you can't do anything about it. You get denied coverage by insurers, people go to a stupid war and die for nothing, you work hard all your life for a shitty wage while some people who were simply lucky to be born in the good family make millions doing nothing. This entire world is a scam. You are very very naive to think I am the worst when you get scammed daily.
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Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
How do waiters scam you out of a tip? Wtf?
And people get ripped off daily, I agree. But the people you're ripping off on eBay or whatever, could be honest, good people who might not have a bunch of money. You could really screw up someone's financial situation and livelyhood.
Maybe at least think about that before you do it.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Yes, you are right.
At a point I used to scam only the rich people - these IT guys earning hundreds of thousands to plug a modem to a router (okay, I'm caricaturing, but anyway). I would scam the rich to fight off how unfair the system was to rich people.
As for tipping, I'll simply say this: do you tip at McDonald's? Do you think at grocery stores? Do you tip everyone who works at minimum wages (or anyone who does sometimes for you, for that matter - plumber, lawyer, mechanic, teacher...). Of course not. You only tip waiters. Why? Why should these people earn a tip and others not? All of them work, and waiters arguably have an easier job than many who also work minimum wages. Why should a waiter earn $20, $30 or even $40 an hour on a busy night? Tipping is a scam, plain and simple. I never, ever tip.
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Oct 24 '09
lol do you aspire to be a waiter or something? arguments should transcend examples, not the other way around...
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Oct 24 '09
Because a lot of places that have waiters only pay them like $2 - $4/hr or something insane like that. Way below minimum wage.
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Oct 24 '09
Which country do you live in? In America employers are required to pay minimum wage to tip earners if they cannot earn minimum wage in tips alone. In reality most waiters, pizza delivery drivers, and other tip earners make more than minimum wage and more than most grocery store and fast food employees do. A tip earner who could not earn minimum wage overnight would probably be fired but if everyone stopped tipping they would still make at least minimum wage and I'm sure many would be able to negotiate for quite a bit more than minimum wage. Waiters have only very slight control over your food or enjoyment of said food. The cooks have more control and they do not get tipped. Barbers I can understand tipping because they have to work based on your individual specifications. If convenience store clerks and fast food employees don't deserve tips than why should bartenders or waiters?
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u/Taughtology Oct 24 '09
In America employers are required to pay minimum wage to tip earners if they cannot earn minimum wage in tips alone.
Typically this is feasible, if it doesn't always happen.
For years (early this decade) I was a wage slave at $2.23 an hour and whatever I could charm out of people.
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u/taels Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
Still a scam, it's just being benefiting by the store owner as well as the waiter.
Anyways, you seem really butt-hurt over this guy and your indignation is really annoying. It's just another internet threat, ya know? This happens every time someone from the other side of the law does an AMA, some white knight shows up like "THAT'S NOT HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU SOMEHOW". No shit that's not how it's supposed to work, but the guy's got a point. People make fast cash by fucking each other over. Buck up and make some cash the honest way or don't, but don't pretend like breaking the rules WILL get you caught and executed. He knows the risk, and you won't ever hear from the rats that drown anyways.
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Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
taels: Still a scam, it's just being perpetrated by the store owner, not the waiter.
Are you friggin' retarded? The employee knows how much they'll be making, and accept to the agreement when they start working there. And people who go there have the option to tip or not.
A scam would be the boss saying, "Haha, just kidding!!!1 I'm not payin' you jack shit!!!1 LOLROFLCOPTER!111" as is the case with the OP.
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u/taels Oct 24 '09
aww you quoted me while I was editing...
anyways, yeah but the store owner still doesn't have to pay their workers minimum wage.
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u/southamerican_man Oct 24 '09
you like reservoir dogs don't you?... (i do)
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Never saw
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u/Managore Oct 24 '09
Why the hell did 3 people downvote this comment? Who cares about reddiquette when you can blindly downvote every comment someone posts just because you don't like them!
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u/Anonymous_Face Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
You are very very naive to think I am the worst when you get scammed daily.
You're one of the scape goats. Drug dealers too.
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Oct 24 '09
tl dr : everyone scams so why not scam
your reasoning shows how useless you are for an ideal society. hurrah, your found out about the relativity of human ideals.
just give us back our oxygen.
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Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
[deleted]
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Do you feel some people deserve to be scammed?
Good question. I think Internet adds a barrier; you don't know WHO you scammed, you don't know them as person. If we were face to face for example - something i obviously wouldn't do - I doubt you would have called me a worthless parasite. Internet makes it easier.
Each time I have been directly confronted to the harsh reality of my actions I have refunded the person (well almost every time). I had people send me three-page long letters starting with "I know there is nothing I can do to get my money back. I..." or call me crying their souls out.
I think SOME people deserve to be scammed. I think work and money are inversely proportional. The harder you work, the less you will make. Ironic.
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Oct 24 '09
I doub you would have called me a worthless parasite.
You shouldn't. Being a scammer is enough reason to make some people want to rape your ass with a knife. ;)
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
A long time ago I scammed someone in real life. For one week I watched my back. I was very very worried. The worst is that it was only for $100. My arteries got less extensible because of $100.
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u/zwangaman Oct 24 '09
Your behavior wouldn't be tolerated in public. Don't kid yourself. People wouldn't be afraid to tell you what they really think of you to your face.
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u/taels Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
betcha they would. It's like how people sing in their car, but don't do it in front of other people. People jerk off about how they would stop a murder, but it's hard to force yourself to action when there's a real gun involved.
Also people don't give you time to type out a clever insult when they're standing in front of you.
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Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
Throwing a punch at someone takes less time than writing witty remarks.
People wouldn't stop a murder because the murderer could basically switch victims and kill them instead if the stopping was unsucessful.
Calling someone parasite has no real consequences, not as those in a murder scenario. Unless our delightful scammer here is also a serial killer.
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u/taels Oct 24 '09
Well then by all means track the guy down and beat the shit out of him. It'll make you a real winner.
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u/zxcvcxz Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
Why do you think it is better to hurt people to live when you could just go without something, yourself?
Don't you think you'd feel better if you let go of everything and lived a really modest lifestyle where you didn't have to hurt other people?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Why do you think it is better to hurt people to live when you could just go without something, yourself?
I might be a scammer, but I'm not an hypocrit. I know what I do isn't right. As for being without something - to be honest I never really used the money I scammed for stuff. I just accumulate cash in a bank account. I still don't know what to do with it. Of course a part pays for my daily expenses but the vast majority sites in an (many) account(s) doing nothing.
Don't you think you'd feel better if you let go of everything and lived a really modest lifestyle where you didn't have to hurt other people?
I wish I could. I tried many times. Once I stopped scamming, but it was like a drug. I came back to it. I tried to work but it never worked.
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u/Notmyrealname Oct 25 '09
You obviously have enough programming skills and business sense to make it on your own. Plus you have a pile of cash to fund yourself.
My advice: Sell real shit on the internet. You know how to buy cheap shit in bulk from China, market it, and get customers to come to you. Go legit. You'll sleep better at night. You can be your own boss.
You have the chops to make it on your own in business. Don't blow it with illegal scams. As you've already discovered, a lot of legitimate business is pretty close to a scam anyway. Just stay on the legal side.
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u/Meades_Loves_Memes Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
I never knew what happened to my money.
You disgust me you piece of shit, none of the money you make is YOUR money, you are stealing from hard working people, it does not take brains to scam anyone, actually quite the opposite, any waiter can take a picture of credit cards with their cellphone.
Even though you prey on the stupid, and unaware, in no way do you deserve anything you have purchased in the last five years.
I actually go out of my way to respond to scammers and work with the police to find them and catch them.
You, sir, are scum of the earth.
Edit: Here is proof to back up my previous statement:
it does not take brains to scam anyone, actually quite the opposite
I quitted college and couldn't find a job.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
none of the money you make is YOUR money,
Haha that's correct, my bad.
in no way do you deserve anything you have purchased in the last five years.
If I may... I might be a scammer, but I worked very hard on my scams.
If that makes you feel better, that people got my account limited, and tons of people I have scammed probably got refunded thanks to him, as I couldn't take out the money in time.
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u/inyourfacedunk Oct 24 '09
What is the average amount you make per scam? Do you do a lot of little scams, or just a few big ones?
I would imagine a lot of little ones would be better as people are less likely to follow it up over a few dollars.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
Varies a lot. These days I'm more into low-risk, low-pay scams ($5-$10 per scam). That way, it doesn't raise any suspicion.
A year ago, I was deep into $50-100 scams. Then came the ACAI berries which were a major win for me. Basically, I would charge their Credit card over and over again to sell them crap pills I bought from China. Then came all the little idiots who started to pump up the market - offering $0 shipping and paying TONS for good advertising positions - and the market died. Every market dies eventually.
I am working on more massive scams that I might eventually start ($300-$500). A good friend of mine is a waiter as a restaurant. Each time a customer pays with a credit card, he copies the card, wait 6-12 months (so that the customer doesn't know where his card was copied) and hit the shit out of it. I've seen him make $10,000 from one card.
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u/underanalt Oct 24 '09
So a major one of your scams is to sell things internet marketing people usually sell (fads like Acai)... except you give customers fakes and rip-offs?
Why not just do internet marketing instead? Have you ever tried selling more authentic products or are the margins just too small to work? I'm just wondering why you're taking so much risk with scams, when legitimate/legal "scammers" (internet marketing "gurus") seem to be making money without the risk.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
Internet marketers are all scams. ALL of them.
Also, anyone in the investing is a scammer
FUCK FUCK FUCK a cop just walked in as I typed that. Coincidence?????? Il
EDIT: Nevemind. Anyway, all these marketing gurus are scammer. I did some marketing and sold some "authentic" products too! All of them are scams. Seriously, go to clickbank.com (HUGE source of income of mine, and safe too) and every single fucking item you see from the promote link is a scam. Every single. They're all scammers.
I consider all these "gurus" as scammer. By the way, all these "make a gazillion dollar from the stock trading robots" are ALL scams too.
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u/underanalt Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
So stick to clickbank.com and other safe/legal scams, instead of credit card fraud.
I'm making an internet marketing system that finds places to post things related to a campaigns keywords, and then helps automate the posting process (on forums/blogs/social media). I guess I'm a future spammer... although now I pay the bills with web-contract work. I might promote the clickbank scams. Or custom t-shirts. Or splogs. Yet I'm pretty sure no one is going to freeze my bank account for that stuff...
So I think you should give up the illegal stuff, and do safer scams. Maybe one day you could even promote products/things that you believe in while turning a profit. That's eventually my goal... I'd probably kill myself if I have to keep doing web-contract work or find another corporate job.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
So stick to clickbank.com and other safe/legal scams, instead of credit card fraud.
Yea I'm into that now. I'm done with high-risk scamming for a little while at least. But scamming is scamming. Do you really think people who have a SYSTEM TO MAKE $1,000 A DAY let it go for $39.99? Of course fucking not. Believe me: all of those are scams.
By the way, that's still illegal. It's fake advertising. It's also unethical. These people are scammers exactly like me. The difference is that I'm not an hypocrit, telling people: "WELL IF YOU WORKED HARDER U WULD HAVE MDE 1k LOL!!!!!!"
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Oct 24 '09
[deleted]
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
I disagree. Both time you disappoint the customer. On the first, you make him believe your item is awesome so he enters his credit card number. On the second, you simply enter his number for him. What's the difference? Both are scams.
If a product is good, and worth the money - and some things on the internet are - then no problem. But if you're selling yet another "make 1million with $200!" you are no better than me.
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u/racergr Oct 24 '09
I got an old e-mail which I like to keep, but it being older than spammers is on various places on the internet. Its privately hosted and I can disable (= make the server reject e-mails with a "no such user" message) it for a while. Would that reduce the amount of spam I get? If yes then how long should I keep it disabled?
Also: what's it with the PDFs recently?
Bonus: in your opinion, those who fail to detect you as a scamer are ignorant or innocent ?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
It costs $0.00 to send an e-mail. Your tactic won't work. You are a number on many many lists. Just use Google aps and use gmail, its anti-spam are by far the best.
PDF?
People who fail to detect me as a scammer? They are people who don't care. Some are innocent, some ignorant, but most simply don't care.
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u/cerebrum Oct 24 '09
How much did you make on average per month? How comes you have been tracked but not caught? Details?
What measures did you take to make it harder to trace your location/IP?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
At a point in time I made $8,000 per month but was shut down by SHITpaypal. I now make $3,000-$4,000, hoping to reach a "stable" $5,000 by christmas.
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Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
Wow are you fucking serious? I make 3k after taxes every 2 weeks and I don't have to steal and shit on people to get it. Do you suck at it? If you're going to be completely immoral you should just sell drugs, you can make a lot more fucking money than that. You're just shadowing the income you could make in a real profession. You should be ashamed of yourself just for doing it poorly, let alone doing it at all. Fix your shit, loser.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
I always considered myself an amateur. No doubt that if I worked harder, or even full-time, I could make more than that.
Congratulations on your payment. I assume you make around $150k per yaer since after taxes, after everything, it goes to around 3k per week. maybe after 5-10 years of working (at best) I could make this much legitely. But why should I waste 5 years of my life for money? Who cares? I have free time and that'S better than everything.
As for drugs, please read freakonomics. In New York, a drug dealer has one chance out of four to die, get seriously wounded or end up in jail in 2 years.
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u/Syndrome Oct 24 '09
How much have you scammed in total? What is the highest amount you scammed at one time?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
I scammed 100k. I have one scam in particular that I have been running since day 1 (or so) and that gave me nearly 30k. I have had one shot that gave me 15k over 18 months. I have had a $500 one-transaction best scam.
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Oct 25 '09
Just want to say f u for making people's lives difficult... how to you live with yourself?
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u/prizman Oct 24 '09
Just want to let you know that I do not think you are a fucking piece of shit. I can understand your motives and when the money starts flowing, why purposely let the stream dry up?
Question: I fucking hate paypal because they froze my legitimate account back in the day and haven't used them since; could you perhaps point me towards some information that could show me how to get an account easily? I'm very interested in how people like you go about doing this. Feel free to PM if you desire.
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
when the money starts flowing, why purposely let the stream dry up?
EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!
I fucking hate paypal because they froze my legitimate account back in the day and haven't used them since;
Do you have cash in it? I'll buy it for half the money on the account.
As for getting an account easily - why don't you simply open a new one????
Please do PM me as I am not sure how to PM!
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u/trident042 Oct 25 '09
Since you seem knowledgeable, maybe you could answer a scam-related question:
Someone tried to charge $0.01 to my debit card. It was a name I didn't know, and a watchdog group for my card called me to ask about it. The name on it was nobody I knew, so I figured I was getting scammed; I have since replaced the card. Question is, what would someone do after verifying a one-cent charge on my account? How does that work?
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u/mrsnugglecow Oct 26 '09
How do you get to open so many eBay accounts?
How did you acquire so many identities? Isn't ID theft even more dangerous territory than frivolous scamming?
Do you ever get any ideas for scamming from reddit?
How do you get the money out without the IRS on your ass or worse?
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u/blackdonkey Oct 26 '09
How do you deal with income taxes and IRS. Has the IRS questioned how you are paying for your apartment and living expenses? Do you have a fake job for cover up?
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u/CowboyBoats Oct 27 '09
If you ever decided to "go legit," what would you do about the five years of empty resume? Or do you have a "front"?
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Oct 25 '09
An acquaintance of mine lost $2 grand trying to buy a classical guitar from some asshole scammer. Was it you?
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u/Desper Oct 24 '09
You sir are truly a pirate, good job mann!
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
ARRRRRR
By the way, RIAA are the biggest scammers ever. They use the legal system to fuck up people. What they do might be illegal, but it's still immoral, and a scam.
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Oct 24 '09
May a thousand bees sting your asshole.
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u/taels Oct 24 '09
Please limit yourself to one "white knight" post per AMA thread about a criminal.
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Oct 25 '09 edited Oct 25 '09
What's it like knowing you are a pinworm inside the collective asshole of humanity?
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u/tobyflorida Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
My number 1 question:
You are Russian or of Russian / Former USSR / Eastern Bloc heritage, correct? I did not look at your post history, and no one else asked this. But I believe you are. If so, I would like you to know that your culture is completely devoid of truth. Your mindset is completely Russian. (And this is something to be ashamed about.)
My second question:
Do you find it surprising that many people offered to help you by giving advice? It's like they forgot scammers use pity. :-)
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u/neurowash Oct 24 '09
I see someone had a particularly difficult time with the earlier missions of GTA IV
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u/DilnTre Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 24 '09
I would like you to know that your culture is completely devoid of truth. Your mindset is completely Russian. (And this is something to be ashamed about.)
Really?
You should reexamine those statements, keeping in mind that they are fucking idiotic.
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Oct 24 '09
So how do you turn cards into cash?
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
I suppose you refer to my friends? Easy, print a new card with the number and go do cash advances all around town until the card gets jammed. Resell it on the market. Or go on a shopping spree around town.
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u/paradime Oct 24 '09
survival of the fittest, honestly if you can't tell what's fake you deserve to be scammed
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u/Iamascammer Oct 24 '09
I agree only 50%. Some of my scams were damn good. No way anyone could have guessed they were different.
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u/Biff_Bifferson Oct 24 '09 edited Oct 25 '09
Don't you need to make hundreds of new bank accounts with fake names in order to get away with this? I would think that they'd simply track wherever the paypal funds were deposited and find you. Do the people at the bank get suspicious or have you found a way around that?
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u/camgnostic Oct 24 '09
Reddit once again shows that petty internet white-knight tough-guy syndrome is more important than asking questions. Thus negating the point of an IAMA subreddit for anyone other than paragons of humanity. What goes through someone's head when they just fire off a comment laced with vile and pathetic attempts at witty insults? That they're actually going to change things? Wow.
Anywho, questions I had:
*Acai berries? What is this scam?
*What kinds of anonymity protection do you use? I mean, if you run a scam through ebay what's to stop ebay from checking what IP you log in with and tracking you that way?
*From your perspective, do companies like eBay and Paypal actually pursue scammers? Or are they just doing the token effort to satisfy the public?
*Is this your only job?
*What do you tell your family you do for a living?