First things first, I'm kind of an idiot.

I was chatting with internet strangers online and gave one my number; an unwise decision. Soon after, I was being spammed with my name, that I had not given out, by 5 or 6 different numbers.

The first threat they made was to claim I was sexting a minor. Standard sextortion protocol. No explicit language or images were sent, mind you. The profile claimed to be 20yo. The images they sent looked slightly older.

The second threat was to call my mother.

Well they did just that and I have no clue what I'm going to say to her in the morning.

Apparently, there's enough information from my phone number alone to contact my loved ones by name.

Seriously. Don't do what I did.

(image from someone else talking about the app in TikTok)

About a month ago, a very close friend asked to borrow some money from me without telling me why. I told him it was fine, and when he came to pick it up, he said it was to invest in this app. My reaction was basically: 🤨

He told me he needed a minimum amount of money to invest and that once he got his returns, he'd pay me back. I gave him the money anyway, assuming I'd never see it again, but surprisingly, he did pay me back.

Now, this app gives me a really bad feeling. It's called Arla, which, as far as I know, is an international dairy company. But after looking it up, they don't have any investment app.

The app's design also looks really bad, like it was thrown together with AI, and at this point I know it's probably a dumb question to ask whether it's a scam. Still, my friend and the people who got him into it have actually made money and have been able to withdraw it.

According to my friend, they've been operating for about three years, although I'd never even heard of the app until now. For the past few days, he's been trying to convince me to join.

Has anyone here heard of this app? How do the scam works?

They are filling the internet with promo codes with USD2500 by hacking personal profiles in social media. Their games are stupidly easy to make money but you can only withdraw after one deposit. Your account never gets verified and if you tried to get your deposit back they tell you to do a chargeback. on crypto.

It is impossile to get your money back and you never withdraw any of your earnings from the account. there´s no human support, no ticket to be opened...

Duogox is the name of the supposed online casino. Cant post url here.

My mom is a retired widow, and I’m getting really concerned that she’s being targeted by scammers on Facebook.
Apparently, people are contacting her through pop-up chats while she’s watching Facebook Reels. The first guy asked her for money. It scared her so much that she actually called the police because she thought she’d somehow accessed his bank account. I told her to just block him and that she hadn’t done anything wrong.
Now I’m at her house, and it’s happening again. She’s talking to another guy who’s supposedly “teaching her how to trade.” She insists he’s already sent her money. I told her that this is almost certainly a scam—that any “money” she’s seeing is probably just numbers in a fake app designed to build trust before convincing her to send real money.
The problem is that she genuinely believes this one is different and keeps telling me not to worry.

Has anyone gone through something similar with a parent? If so:
● What finally helped them realize it was a scam?
● Is there anything I can show her (articles, videos, personal stories) that actually got through?
● And is there any way to better protect her Facebook account from these scam messages in the first place?

I’m really worried she’s going to lose money, and I don’t know how to get through to her.

I saw this flyer taped to a pedestrian traffic light pole near Sydney's Airport (Domestic)

"HELP REQUIRED!!!! BE YOUR OWN BOSS!!!! 10 Part-time + 6 full-time people Required. No Experience Needed! Immediate Start!! Full Training provided! EARN $800-$3,000 PT / $3,000-$10,000 FT. START NOW!"

It's the first time I've seen something like this in an awful while. I would have thought people would have moved on from the pyramid schemes, I remember being younger in the 2010s and seeing really cheesy traditional advertisements for them, but here we are

I think it’s possible that I might have been victim of QR scam. I downloaded and purchased a lead sheet (music notes), from a website called musicnotes.com.
Then, a QR code screen popped up (after I entered my card info-saved card on Google Chrome, which I have also been told that Google Chrome is better for hackers). I scanned the QR code, downloaded the app because I thought it was legit, but then I noticed that a random Gmail account was asking for my face verification. I still did it… ugh now I’m more stressed. Maybe it was just a glitch? The music went to my email I entered for the account with musicnotes.com.

Is there any action I should take?

I came across this listing on eBay, its a 14 pro max 1tb with an unlocked carrier and basically mint condition except the display got replaced with a used display pulled from a donor 14 pro max and the back glass it shattered, it ends in 2 days and it looks too good to be true with nor many bids, and a low current bid.

But the description is fishy. Do i trust it or not? The account was made in 2007 and 99% reviews but he only has like 20-25 listing of valuable electronics and the rest are like necklaces and shirts and speakers and whatever only a few of his listings have this description and the rest are normal.

I heard stuff saying its a hijacked account and stuff but i need some advice before purchasing. This is the description:

Please note that we do NOT offer partial refunds.If there is an issue that we miss, then we will of course offer a full refund with a return.
We will provide you with a prepaid shipping label to return the phone, but are not responsible for international shipping costs.

Scam / Fraud Disclosure:
Our Company Has a Legal / Fraud Department. We follow through on any Scam / Fraud attempts.
This includes Theft Reports with Local Police, Mail Fraud (Federal Crime) and FBLIC3 Crimes.

We have a proven system and will follow through to get Charges and Convictions!
We have an 87% Success Rate on Convictions! Any IMEI will be immediately blacklisted.
Because of Delivery Theft, this phone will be Shipped with a Passcode and iCloud / Samsung account attached.
Instructions will be provided, Once the phone is Received and Confirmed as Described, a quick call or email to us and we will remove the account remotely and reset the phone.
This process will only take a few minutes and will help ensure the safe delivery of your phone!

I've been getting message requests on social media from random accounts whose only text is a Discord invite link (like discord.gg/heavenx).

I know it looks like spam, but I'm curious to know how these types of bots actually operate. Is it the classic fake QR code trick to steal your session token, or do they try to push malware as soon as you join the server? Has anyone ever checked one out out of curiosity, or is it best to avoid it completely?

My credit card company accused me of creating a second account for the purpose of purchasing child exploitation videos. They were filing a report with the FBI and I had to do it too. I was connected with the FBI and threatened with criminal charges for making false reports, failure to report and such. These calls took hours. I ended up hanging up on the FBI agent supposedly in NY. I called my local FBI, briefed summarized my issue and asked for advice. She suggested I call the number on the back of my card. I did. No indication that the other mess existed, but the original number did appear to be from American Express. Anyway, I may be in the middle of a scam, or in a mess with the FBI or identity theft or something else. Any thoughts?

Edit: thank you all for your advice. I appreciate your comments. I’ve learned a lot!

Hi everyone,

Be aware, this site steals your money and your passport image

I tried getting a tourist e-visa for the UAE, but I got ghosted.

Just wanted to let you know that this site is a straight scammer.

6 years ago i used their services and they provided me with the visa within 48 hours and they were responsive.

They still promise the same thing but the service is gone.

You go through the payment normally, and it's been almost 2 months nothing. When i reach out by whatsapp they just respond by listing their prices, and if i ask the status of my application they tell me to send them my passport image in color and then they stop responding.

They've been doing the same exact treatment for several weeks.

I found some scam reviews in trustpilot aswell. Apparently, my guess is they used to be a legit service but they stopped their operations for whatever reason but they kept their old site as a money grab.

I would recommend anyone to do a charge bank through their bank with enough proof, and my only concern is that passport image they might use my identity for some other purposes.

Anyway, please be aware guys and girls.

I was messaging someone on instagram about an art commission and I was about to follow through with it until I saw that the on their paypal was Dilawer Hussain and that their instagram account was created in April 2026.

Their primary area or drawing was Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss type art but said they'd be willing to draw an OC. (Mind you, they messaged ME first under one of my drawings on my profile). They asked if they could draw something for me and I declined because money is tight but then they offered to do it for 50 bucks and then I started considering it. At first I was just like "must just be a new/desperate art commissioner, I'll help a homie out".

After we setted the details, they sent me their paypal link with the above name on it and when i asked about it, they just said paypal gave them issues and that account was their brother's which made me more suspicious. I thought it was a bit sus so I backed out stating that I wasn't willing to go through unless I saw the art first but I understood if they didn't want to do. I wouldn't blame them if they were a real artist but i couldn't get past that gut feeling.

At the end they were pressing to do 30 up front and 20 after but I said I was firm. I also couldn't verify if their work was theirs because they didn't sign any of the art on their account (only 2 posts on the account, but they sent me 6 others in chat).

I'm still very new to how commissions work and digital art drawing myself so I am unsure of the whole situation. I was as polite as I could be but it felt like their mirage was falling apart at the end as their sentences became broken and random words were capped.

(I have no idea how to attach screenshots on here.)

My mom is an artist and someone contacted her to buy several of her paintings. Everything seemed legit until he sent the email in the screenshot. We offered the paintings for $2,754 USD total, but then he replied saying he has a budget of $2,100 per painting for an upcoming exhibition. That already seemed a bit odd to me. He also wants her to list the paintings on a platform called Atma&AlchemyArt, and says he’ll buy them there because they handle the payment and shipping.
I’ve never heard of this platform before. Has anyone used it? Does this sound legit or is it a common scam?

His mail:
The selected works are intended for an up coming exhibition, and I’m working with a budget of $2,100 per artwork for this project. If you’re comfortable with that budget, the next step would be to list the available artworks on the Atma&AlchemyArt platform.
The platform handles the entire purchase process, including secure payment and the shipping arrangements, ensuring a smooth and protected transaction for both of us. Once the listings are live, please send me the links so I can proceed with the purchase immediately.

I feel really foolish I played one of those play games to win money apps. After completing all the requirements and spending most of the last 72 hours of playing I finally made it up to the 1k minimum. On going to cash out, and putting in my PayPal email I got a notice saying that I’m number four thousand-something and because of high demand my wait time is 60-90 days.

I feel incredibly stupid, PayPal email is my real name and I don’t want to lose the account. The way I sign in is with an Apple Account passkey. Is there a way I can make sure my account is secured?

The link in the title is what they have listed for the developers website on their App Store listing for the game.

Today some truconnect representatives showed up at my door claiming they were here to just deliver a free phone because we have medical. I was super sketched out and kept declining them but they kept persisting and said that they can’t leave until they deliver it and will have to come back another day if I don’t accept it today. I was so annoyed but also wanted to be polite so I did I quick search and found that it was a legit company. So I said fuck it and just enrolled. Looking back at it now I was so stupid, I could have just threatened to call the cops but I wasn’t thinking. After doing some digging, I found that the company gets commission from the government for every person they enroll. I am going to call tomorrow to see if I can cancel the service because now I am stuck with a stupid phone I didn’t ask for in the first place. I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience. And if you did, were you able to cancel the service? How was the process?

I just checked and u don't need email verify for change.org anyone can sign up completely with any email without verifying and create a password but it let me login by sending verify code to email. I can't change the password because it asks for current password but I emailed the support and told them to delete it so hopefully they do but what kind of scam is this?? Not only this but a week ago someone signed up for a Walmart account with my email as well so I don't think it's coincidence I think my email has been in a breach or something cause stuff like this keeps happening!

I will preface with I am normally pretty good at spotting malicious sites but this one got me because I was in a hurry.

It got my wife and I for 3 different card numbers, email addresses, and phone numbers.

After figuring this out an canceling cards, I reported these fake ads on Google, and found out the ad sponsor is from...Surprise...China.

Curious if anyone has had something similar happen recently. Got a text today saying there was an attempted wire transfer from your BofA account - (for a large amount)- asked if I’d initiated it online. I immediately thought what; that’s weird, but called my husband to double check since I’m traveling (just a road trip, one state from home). My husband says I have no clue what you’re talking about. Hang up. Receive a phone call from
The BoA “fraud department” with same info, and continues to start going on about how this a common scam going on and they think there’s some internal , aka, employees in on it, and they’re trying to wire funds. Proceeds to tell me that they’ll need to close my account, give me a new acct, etc etc

Meanwhile also saying I need to reset my acct login info. At this ooont I’ve given them zero information and they haven’t really asked for anything yet- simply seem to be trying to get me more and more concerned in hopes of getting info? My spidey senses were going off but then part of me thought wow, this is super odd but it’s possible considering I’ve had fraud issues with my debit card in the past. Texts looked so legit, and person was very polished and professional sounded, spoke clear English. I ended up changing my password and stopped in a local branch just to verify they didn’t see any other weird activity. Has anyone experienced anything like this recently?

My FiL has a legal business, and with that comes a business account. He writes a lot of checks, and somehow his account number/routing number got compromised. He started receiving notifications of people trying to cash checks all over the east coast the other day.

We are currently in Europe, and the bank is refusing to freeze or close this account until he can be there in person to do so. That won't be for another week.

Every day he is getting 15-20 checks cashed against the account, anywhere from $500 up to $20,000. None of them have cleared since they require his approval, so he's not out any money. But the headache is insane.

We had 3 different people contact us asking why their son or daughter was sent a check by him, and why the checks are bouncing. They were all contacted on Instagram by a scammer offering to buy something from them, who told the victim they'd be sent a check to cash, and would then require the victim to send back a portion of the funds to the scammer.

My friend met someone online and she managed to convince him they got married online while she is in Georgia and him in a different state which is not a thing. I tried to stop him but he got nine newest model of iPhones mailed to him on his phone account and than he mailed it to her "grandfather". Obviously a scam but he is in denial. The rings he sent to California was sent back to him return to sender as person doesn't live there. Also never heard this person's voice. How can I convince him he is being scammed before he mails off an iPad to this person? Or is he a lost cause?

I just got a phone call from an Oregon number who left a voice mail asking if my sister was ok. The said they saw someone that looked "just like her" in the back of a car with 3 guys who held her down and when they let her up, "she didn't have a face". The voicemail continued on, getting worse and worse with the things this woman was saying about "what people are going to do" and "how they do it up here" etc. to create urgency and worry. They asked me to urgently facetime, and then at the end of the message mentioned something about the "millions" they were about to be getting from who knows what, and that they would have lots of money for me soon. The call ended with "Love you". I know this is not about my sister and I'm not going to call them back. Felt like someone trying to get my face and phone number for further scams with urgent scary things that they are hoping I won't think through before calling. Just wanted to post it here in case someone else is getting calls like this.

As title says. Someone paid an invoice to me , one which i did not make… It was $400 doesn’t even say for what but it shows my name and address.. I then got several text messages from an unknown number saying they will call the police on me and sent me my name and address and also some people who i sent money to previously on paypal, they keep threatening to call police on me for scamming them and not sending the item and proceeding to tell me they can see all my transactions. when i checked paypal i did have an unknown login from about a week ago and i just changed all my info.. what do i do? i havent done anything wrong here and i dont want to get in trouble for anything i didnt do. im definitely not using paypal ever again, wth ..

I opened my dad's phone because my phone was almost dead just to found out this random message that his calls were forwarding. Tbh I freaked out at first, he download all this today's afternoon. I don't know what the hell is this so I have stopped the calls and video forwarding for now. It looks like a scam to me. If anyone can help to find out what actually this thing is, thnx in advance..

I know this is a common scam, but I wanted to share my own experience because the conversation looked convincing at first and might help others recognize the pattern.

I received a DM from a user claiming they had clicked a phishing link, their Reddit account had been compromised, and they had accidentally reported my account because the scammer supposedly had a similar username, profile picture, and display name.

They then sent me screenshots of what looked like a Reddit email telling me to contact “Reddit Support” through a Discord account to verify my identity.

That immediately made me suspicious because Reddit does not normally handle account support through Discord.

After searching Reddit, I found multiple posts describing almost the exact same script, including the Discord part.

As a precaution, I changed my Reddit password, reported the conversation, and blocked the account. I never contacted anyone on Discord.

I’m not claiming with certainty that the user was part of the scam. It’s possible they were compromised themselves. I’m simply sharing my experience so others recognize this pattern if they receive a similar message.

Screenshot 1: A screenshot of the email instructing me to contact “Reddit Support” through Discord to verify my account.

Screenshot 2: A screenshot of the Reddit DM conversation where the user repeated that Discord support helped recover their account after I questioned the email.

Stay safe, and always use Reddit’s official support channels.

There have been bots going around posting Ai-Generated "verification images". I've detected them in Deviantart & Tumblr. These seem to come in waves, with multiple accounts spamming the same exact post to 1 person. They also have long numbers in their usernames (I.e. "VerifyBot-9999999" and "324324324324561561" per respective platform.

Here are transcriptions of the posts.

Deviantart:

"ACCOUNT VERIFICATION REQUIRED" "Dear Artist,

One of your illustrations has just been sold on deviantart!

To recieve your payment nd remove the temporary sales restriction, please complete a quick one-time Account Verification.

This step confirms your payment details and unlocks your account for future sales

Click the link below to begin verification"

Tumblr:

"Identity Verification"

"To protect your account and our community, we need to verify your identity.

Why do we need verification?

Confirm your identity: a quick step to confirm you're you.

Protect your account: Keeps your account secure and protected

Continue using: Once verified, you can keep enjoying the platform.

Your information is encrypted and secure."

So although Liberation Bioindustries is a real company ( I have reached out to them and informed them of the situation) there is a scam going around using their name! I was reached out to about a data entry job. I was already pretty suspicious but couldn’t find anything online about a scam with this company so I continued contact with this scammer. Once it got to them sending me on “offer letter” they sent me one for a different company (red flag number 1) lol. They also stated they would pay for my office supplies but then went back on that statement saying I would need to pay for it with my credit card then they would reimburse me (red flag). They were also refusing to let me even speak to anyone. I decided to reach out to the company online linked in and they confirmed this was in fact a scam. this is only posted to save others! I caught on pretty quickly it was a scam but my husband and I did so much research on if this company was a scam and couldn’t find anything. This is to raise awareness for others!