Is this a scam or am I being paranoid? And if so, what kind of scam is this?

Submitted ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Cock_Inspecting_Asexual@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/4dfc9ddc-30ae-4318-91df-c2f2295109d8.png

This person friended me from an online game I played asking if I wanted to be paid to be a penpal. I’m familiar with a lot of phishing scams and other sorts of scams but I’ve never seen a scam like this one. What exactly is this person trying to get from me, are they hoping to infect my device with something sinister or are they trying to phish information from me without me knowing it? They seem to put a lotta emphasis on me VIEWING this photo they’re gonna send me and it makes me think that whatever they’re gonna send me must be infected with some sort of trojan. Can someone explain to me what’s going on here?

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ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
It’s called remote deposit cheque fraud. It’s a fake cheque. If you cash it, it will eventually get flagged as a a fake, and the bank will take the money back, even if you’ve already spent it or sent it to the scammer. And if you never send money to the scammer, they get nothing, but it also costs them nothing to make the attempt, because you’re the one depositing the cheque and wearing the risk.

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- TachyonTele_Esq@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  What happened to checks needing to be cleared first by banks? Do they just accept them now and deal with it later?
  
  I haven’t used a check in… 30 years I think.
  
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  - doc@fedia.io ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    Most banks will, as a courtesy, deposit a certain amount immediately while the remainder waits to be cleared. My bank will pre-deposit $500 of any check and then the rest several days later. Or at least they used to. It's been like 10 years since I had to depsoit a check.
    
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  - bigkahuna1986@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    Depending on the amount and the history of the customer cashing it you may get the funds right away. Probably not for a 1000$ but less then 200 or so. Eventually it will clear and you’ll get boned if it was bad.
    
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- Cock_Inspecting_Asexual@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Ooohhhh okay
  
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AlfalFaFail@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
I’m going to outline this so everyone knows how this works in detail. There’s a number of comments talking about metadata, but this is remote check fraud.

The key dialogue is here:

"Okay the check will be written here then I’ll take picture of the check front and back then send it to you and you preview it on your laptop or iPad then you log in your bank app and take the snapshot to the provided space and you get the money"

Phase 1

Fraudster sends an image of a check through e-mail

You use your computer to view the check

You then use your phone’s bank app to deposit the check

Your bank is required by US Law to make up to $500 available immediately

Phase 2

The fraudster makes an excuse of why they can’t do it any more or mentions that they over paid

They ask you to send money through an untracable manner (Bitcoin, gift cards, etc)

They may say something like you keep some for your effort or just lean on your kindness

Your bank realizes that this check is fake or been used already

You bank withdraws that amount from your account

This isn’t an unusual scam, but it’s technically illegal for you to deposit a picture of a check. You need the original.

Best to block and report them.
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one_old_coder@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
A stranger is sending you free money? That’s a scam.

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- Cock_Inspecting_Asexual@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Yeahh im aware, but the curiosity what what it is they were trynna do had me titillated 🥴 I wanted to see how it’d play out
  
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  - Sabata11792@ani.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    Likely they send you a bad check, ask for a cut or say they over paid, check bounces and funds go away from your account, they keep there cut, you take the 100% of the loss.
    
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  - Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    As long as you understand that you absolutely are taking the risk of fraud being assosiated with your own personal bank account.
    
    Like don’t post in 2 days “GUYS!!! I WAS HACKED!!! THEY STOLE EVERYTHING!!!”
    
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PP_BOY_@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
You would have to be an idiot to entertain this. Block, move on, and ignore in the future. It’s unlikely you’re even talking to a real person.

This is the first stages of a very textbook fake check scam. They will provide a (unbacked) check, you can cash it and see the funds appear in your account. Something will happen, maybe they’ll realize they overpaid you by a few hundred dollars and ask you to refund that amount. The original check funds will be pulled after a few days when the financial institutions realize they were fraudulent and you’ll be out whatever amount of real funds you sent.

Now that you know this is a scam, even accepting the fake check is a felony.

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- Cock_Inspecting_Asexual@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  I wasn’t planning on accepting a check from some rando online. That much common sense I do have. I will admit I am a bit of an idiot for entertaining them because I deadass CANNOT help myself.
  
  I lowkey-highkey just wanna fuck with em in some way or waste his time. I used to troll fake VRchat model artists with zip bombs, but I’ve never really encountered a check scam before, so I was curious about it, hence why I asked.
  
  I already know it’s a scam, but I was curious on the specifics of the scam. I like learnin about shit and was curious
  
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  - towerful@programming.dev ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    Get them to send you the check.
    Say you deposited it.
    See what happens.
    
    Offer steam gift cards as the payment for the inevitable “I sent too much” part of the scam. Steam is no longer selling physical gift cards.
    So you can waste some time pretending to go to a shop, unable to find them, trying other shops etc.
    
    Kitboga is a master at wasting scammers time if you want some YT vids to watch.
    
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  - PP_BOY_@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    It’s a bot. You’re not trolling anyone but yourself
    
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AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
They are trying to get you to deposit a counterfeit check. It most likely wouldn’t clear your bank, but if it did, you end up on the hook for the entire amount of the check with no money, and they get the amount that you sent “back” to them.

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vk6flab@lemmy.radio ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
If you’re logged into your bank account and the image contains embedded code and you’re vulnerable to the exploit, there’s a good chance that they’ll be attempting to transfer money out of your account.

If it sounds like a scam … and this does … it’s generally cheap insurance to treat it like a scam.

Moreover, if it’s unsolicited, as in, they came to you, the chances are significantly higher that it’s a scam.

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GarboDog@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Yes it’s a scam, they probably want you to buy something right? They’re going to try and send you a fake check, in which they will ask you to digitally cash it in so it doesn’t go through a teller. The check doesn’t actually get checked by anyone due a couple days so you would have effectively stolen money. Then once they convince you to buy something for yourself and/or for themselves they basically fuck off then the bank would be like hey that check wasn’t real, instead of reporting you/done this is the first time we’ll just charge your account for the check.

If your still adamant on them being real, take the check to a teller at the bank. Make sure the check is physical. Make sure the sender it matches their name and the bank is actually real (by the routing numbers not the logo on it)

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- ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Wait, checks are still not automatically cryptographically verified in seconds? How is anyone still using this?
  
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  - invertedspear@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    This would require the bank industry to invest in technology, and that would cost money. Banks are for making money, not spending it. Charge just enough to the consumers to cover whatever losses are brought about by the archaic system and you successfully pass on all losses to the account holders.
    
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  - GarboDog@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    Idk, there’s just quick checks, ig banks just trust ya 🤷‍♀️
    
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Reygle@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Scam. Incredibly obvious scam, so much so that frankly I’m surprised you think you might be paranoid.

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- Buddahriffic@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  It’s because the other piece was still missing: how they actually get money from OP, which comes after the original “payment” goes through.
  
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Dookieman12@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
DON’T DO IT. Just say you did. Lie to them for as long as possible. If they ask for proof you can’t give them, pretend to be dumb af and not understand their instructions.

If a clanker calls you, keep feeding them bogus instructions until they enter an inifite loop to waste their tokens. Kitboga has a YouTube video showing how to do it easily.

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Serinus@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Yes, it’s a scam. Doesn’t really matter what’s going on other than it’s a scam.

Do they even play the game?

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- otter@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Yea I think even if you’re unfamiliar with this particular scam, the pushiness for this particular method of payment is a big red flag.
  
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- Cock_Inspecting_Asexual@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Not even sure, they were a low level player and dont seem to play all that much anyways. The fact they wanted to add me on discord to chat there was sus enough for me. But I just wanted to lead em on cus i was curious where it would go
  
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PorradaVFR@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
There are fewer red flags in Beijing on May Day.

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Dave@lemmy.nz ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Whatever you do, don’t send any money back if they say they sent too much.

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Meatwagon@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I’m just here to say nice username

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Strider@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Props to you for being curious and inquisitive and having the knowledge it’s a scam. Don’t let others bring you off your digging (without endangering yourself).

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blimthepixie@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
That’s like me asking if this email is a scam

Image

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aramis87@fedia.io ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
They're going to "overpay" you, then ask you to send them the money back (or sometimes but something for them). But eventually their check bounces, while you're out whatever money/items you sent them.

You also need to start being more careful, because the scammers sell and trade lists of people who have fallen victim, or almost fallen victim, to their scam. Because if you've (almost) fallen for one scam, you're more likely to fall for a second one.

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- Cock_Inspecting_Asexual@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Aw damn. So I can’t even just take the money and run huh?
  
  Any way I could maybe mess with them before I block em? I feel a tad bit devious, especially after sorta leading em on like this ùwú
  
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  - actionjbone@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    Play dumb to an extreme level. Always insist the things don’t work.
    
    If he asks you to share a screen so he can help, say you don’t know how. Every time he gives you a new instruction, make sure to misinterpret it just enough to make it seem like you are trying to listen, but completely failing to understand.
    
    Ask him to send you $50 via PayPal, but refuse to give him your PayPal account. Tell him nobody else has ever asked you for that when they have sent you money
    
    I’m not saying all of this is a good idea, but they are examples of how you can mess with somebody like that.
    
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Sanctus@anarchist.nexus ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Definitely an SCP trying to disseminate a cognitohazard. I’d avoid at all costs.

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- Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  I believe you, but I have no idea what any of that means.
  
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  - Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    heres the Wikipedia page. That will give you the details. I highly recommend heading to the wiki and reading a few if you’re at all a fan of creative fiction and sci-fi/horror.
    
    If you’re more of an audio type, I cannot recommend The Exploring Series enough. He’s not only got the dry and clinical tone that the format lives on, but he has some well timed jokes and he also elaborates both on the entry and any entries referenced.
    
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- Cock_Inspecting_Asexual@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Its too late. THEY’RE IN MY WALLS.
  
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KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
100% a scam - I fell for it from a Fiverr account, scalpers will find any prior relationship and use it to get bitcoin.

Report and move on.

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Shannaresh@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
The check will bounce/charge back at some point IIRC

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Furbag@pawb.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I used to deal with these types of scams all the time on Craigslist. These guys aren’t even pretending to be legit anymore it seems.

I’m genuinely surprised that any business still accepts cheques.

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Elting@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
might be after your account and routing numbers on the checks

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Smoogs@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
scam.

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Kolanaki@pawb.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
This is the most common kind of check fraud scam.

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- Cock_Inspecting_Asexual@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Ohhhh. Ive never really heard about check fraud scams. How do these work?
  
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  - Kolanaki@pawb.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    They basically try and have you cash a bogus check and then send them all or some of the cash through a money order. Then when the check is found to be BS, you’ll get in trouble with the law.
    
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Khanzarate@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
So at this point you know what it is, you know how to avoid being scammed, and you are aware that the most optimal way to deal with these people is to just block them and move on.

With all these things known, you can waste their time by pretending to have trouble depositing the check, saying the deposit went through while doing nothing, saying it worked and then playing hard to get with their “overpayment return” (usually they play on good Samaritan/pay it forward kind of guilt, so just pretend to be an asshole), and fucking with them every step of the way.

Atomic Shrimp on YouTube has done a bunch of these, if you’d rather live vicariously rather than expose yourself.

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Zier@fedia.io ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Sounds to me like there is a virus attached to the image she wants you to 'view' so desperately.
I forgot what that type of virus is called. But clearly the one she has seems to only work on a laptop or ipad. Guessing Android blocks this.

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- forestbeasts@pawb.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Our laptop runs Linux. I kinda wonder what would happen if someone tried that on us. :3
  
  (not that Linux is inherently more secure, it’s just way more obscure and they probably wouldn’t have a hack prepared for our particular setup)
  
  – Frost
  
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  - Zier@fedia.io ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    I can't remember but I think that particular exploit won't work on Linux. Which is why I was guessing that Android blocks this.
    
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hperrin@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Without a doubt, this is a scam. The check is fake and they will want you to send them money before it gets found out by the bank.

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BCsven@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
You are right to be skeptical. They’ll probably send an image link to an infected site, or send an image file extension but its actually something else

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Hello_there@fedia.io ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Report them

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Is this a scam or am I being paranoid? And if so, what kind of scam is this?

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Phase 1

Phase 2