I came across this guy claiming to be ‘Dave Johnson.’ His profile banner shows a lotto winner, and his posts are full of people supposedly thanking him for sending them money. He followed me randomly, and I decided to test it out because something felt off. His bio said to DM him, so I did.
First thing he asked for was my name, address, email, and phone number. I gave fake info to see where this would go. Next, he told me to contact an agent via iMessage or WhatsApp. I chose WhatsApp. He sent me a bunch of fake details like package numbers and confirmed my (fake) address. Then he claimed the ‘package’ would arrive via next-day shipping.
Here’s the catch: he said I needed to pay $250 first, offering Cash App, PayPal, or Zelle. I picked PayPal. He sent me some random name and email to send the money to and insisted I use ‘Friends and Family’ to avoid PayPal’s buyer protection. He kept spamming my WhatsApp for screenshots to make sure I sent the money.
That’s where I blocked him and reported his account on Blue Sky. This scam is clearly designed to get your money through fake fees. Stay alert, and don’t fall for these scams! Hope this breakdown helps others spot the warning signs before it’s too late.
Hey, thanks for posting! Just a heads-up for everyone new here: if you post about scams, you might get private messages from people claiming they know a hacker or lawyer who can help you recover your money for a small fee. These are recovery scammers. Never take advice in private DMs; always keep discussions public in this forum so the community can help and keep an eye out. Stay safe, everyone.
Warmington said:
Why didn’t you stop the moment you saw his sketchy profile? Seems obvious it was a scam.
Fair point. I probably should have stopped earlier, but I didn’t realize it was a scam at first. I figured it out pretty quickly after seeing the red flags in his messages. I wanted to understand how it worked before reporting him. Lesson learned.
@Braint
Let’s not shame people for falling for scams or taking a minute to figure it out. Everyone’s here to learn and help others. Keep it supportive, folks.
ShirleyTurner said:
Blue Sky’s become a hotspot for scams since a lot of people left X (formerly Twitter). Crypto scams are all over the place there now.
It seems like Blue Sky doesn’t have proper moderation or security to handle the huge influx of users. Scammers are taking full advantage of it.
@TopCop
If that’s the case, they need to fix it fast. People are flocking there thinking it’s safer than X, but it’s not much better if scammers run rampant.
ShirleyTurner said:
Blue Sky’s become a hotspot for scams since a lot of people left X (formerly Twitter). Crypto scams are all over the place there now.
Exactly. People think Blue Sky is some kind of perfect alternative, but scams are everywhere. No social media platform is scam-free.
One thing I can’t stand about Blue Sky is how anyone can follow you without your approval. There’s no way to make your account private. I’ve had a ton of fake accounts follow me, and blocking them doesn’t even remove them from the follower count. This lack of privacy makes it way too easy for scammers to target people, especially older users.
