Dude Tried To Scam Me In The Most Hilarious Way, So I Decided To Strike Up A Conversation With Him. This Is How It Went.

Have y’all watched those documentaries on Netflix or Hulu or wherever about Tinder Swindlers and Catfishes and all of the other total scams that gullible, vulnerable women fall prey to? I’m fascinated by them. I think it’s because waaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day, I was a Psychology major and to this day, I love learning about what makes people do the things that they do.

Some of the scams that find your email account are so ridiculous that I think EVERYONE now recognizes them for what they are. I mean, if you’re seriously considering the possibility that some rando Nigerian prince somewhere needs to wire you millions of dollars and it’s an emergency, please tell someone in your family to remove your access to the internet, because you are hopeless.

But Steve – this guy who sent me an email several days ago, is a little more sophisticated. I want to share our exchange, in case it helps a woman who might not otherwise be on alert, to the methods and practices these guys use to get money.

Here’s the email I received:

Now, it should be noted that I have absolutely no idea how “Steve” found my personal email address (the dark web, maybe?), but that’s where I received this message. I was immediately intrigued because I knew it was a total scam, but it INCLUDED PHOTOS, you guys. Like – there was some serious effort put into this. I decided to look up Steve’s name on LinkedIn, where of course he claimed to have found me, and didn’t find anyone that was a match. BUT, Steve had made himself a Facebook profile using similar photos, so again, A+ for effort.

Then came the easy part. I did a reverse image search on one of the pics, and discovered whose pictures Steve was using. Paulo Brunetti is a very good looking Argentinian actor who I’d never heard of, which makes him a perfect photo template for a scammer to use on unsuspecting women in the United States. Paulo posts a LOT of photos on Instagram, so the opportunities for Steve to “prove” to women that he is who he says he is – by way of showing lots of pictures of himself in various scenarios – are abundant.

I responded to Steve.

I didn’t really think that Steve would respond, but happily, he did, and he seemed perfectly willing to fess up.

So at that point I was INVESTED. I knew this would make great fodder for y’all, and I loved the idea of Steve actually helping make US money.

Also, I thought it was kind of adorable that Steve was still fishing for information about me. I replied:

Quite a few days went by before I heard from Steve again. But he finally responded, and once again tried to redirect. Steve has LOTS OF PRACTICE with this, clearly.

Awww. God bless ‘im. It seems he really had convinced himself I was still scammable. I decided it was time to let him know that I’m not really all that elusive, and actually really easy to find.

Sadly, he had not.

I responded:

I didn’t want Steve to clam up out of fear that I planned to “out” him in any way, you see. And you guys, based on his next response I’m gonna guess that he’s not terribly successful at the whole scamming thing at all:

WHAT.
THE.
ACTUAL.
EFF.

I answered (and since I was on my phone – there’s a typo – the word should be “world” not “works”:

Steve replied:

I could’ve argued with Steve that I actually had/have no IDEA who he is, but I was happy that he still seemed amenable to providing intel. There was one method he mentioned that really confused me though.

Because seriously, I totally understood the photo stuff and messaging, but how could you video call someone as the person whose photos you’ve stolen when you’re not, you know…THEM?

Steve answered. Sort of.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA – Steve is relentless in his pursuit of money, y’all. And seeing as how I have absolutely no interest in helping him in his chosen career, I knew that was going to be the extent of what I’d learn from him.

I don’t expect to hear from him again, which is kind of a bummer because he’s SO VERY RIDICULOUS and entertaining.

Anyway, just a word of caution to all the ladies out there – REVERSE IMAGE SEARCH IS YOUR FRIEND. And so is just a little common sense. Don’t fall for the weirdos.

You’re welcome.