Hi, all! Yesterday, we had an account created on LC under the guise “she” was recently diagnosed with cancer and wanted to gift her quilting supplies away.
The post included an email address and phone number, and it encouraged users to contact them directly. Once contacted, their IP address would shift to a different country. They would provide a shipping quote ($60 - 70) as well as some photos of the supplies “all boxed up and ready to go!” They would inform the user they could accept Zelle or Paypal for shipping. MistressJennie did some fantastic sleuthing along the way and even discovered the photos had been saved and altered from public online images.
If you are in contact with this person, please do not send them your money. If you have already sent them money, please immediately contact your funding source directly for dispute (Zelle, Paypal, etc.). The account has been deleted and banned from LC.
While this is the first instance we’ve had of this on LC, as it is the grand ole internet, it may not be the last. Please remember to always do your due diligence with online interactions. If something feels at all fishy on LC, you can always reach out in private to myself or any of the Mod Squad and we can investigate, too.
I admit I had reservations about @wendycuts but I told myself I was being a cynic. I shall lean into my cynicism a bit more in future.
But this an excellent time to talk about social engineering. That user claimed to have cancer (which is despicable on many, many levels) because that triggers sympathy and when we are sympathetic we’re more likely to lower our guard and give someone the benefit of the doubt. It’s human nature. There were some warning signs though - wanting to be contacted off-site is one.
With scammers using AI to generate images, mine for information on individuals, and draft emails, posts, and messages that at first glance feel genuine it gets harder to spot the scam. Please always be wary and if something feels off, trust your gut.
If you have already sent them money, please immediately contact your funding source directly for dispute (Zelle, Paypal, etc.). The account has been deleted and banned from LC.
. Luckily, we don’t usually have to do much of this kind of mod work on LC, but it is what we’re here for.
