#tumblr/spot the scam

[galleryyuhself]

Galleryyuhself - If you DON'T read then you DON'T NO!

..........................................................................................................

Spot the Scam, Stop the Fraud! What makes this a scam:

1. Poor grammar and spelling: Scammers often make mistakes in their writing.

2. Suspicious link: Clicking on unknown links can lead to malware infections (software that is specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system) or phishing attacks.

3. Sense of urgency: Scammers often create a sense of panic to pressure you into acting quickly without thinking.

Sign up to be notified about our upcoming Fraud Awareness campaign- Spot The Scam, Stop The Fraud here: https://batt.org.tt/liveshow#fraudawareness

[8pxl]

PSA 🗣️ another scammer using genAI without disclosing it

pixlgirl has been posting generated AI (targeting fandoms) without disclosing it, passing it off as their genuine art and has apparently scammed at least one person into ‘commissioning’ them. this is a public PSA so yall can block them, and not interact. please do not harass them!

it’s incredibly shitty to be disingenuous while posting AI but even shittier to scam people with it 🤢 stay diligent yall

[kyra45]

Mural commission scams/Commission scams

(Mural commission scams/Commission scams)

If you are an artist who regularly posts art to tumblr, you may have received DMs/replies from accounts who are either asking to use your art in a mural because a client wants it or a message asking you if you take commissions (even if you have a post that would answer that question) before requesting you to draw their pet/family member.

These are actually known as scam messages/asks and were originally mainly spotted on deviantART/Twitter (X), Instagram, etc. You get these if you use certain tags as these mainly blank blogs are usually watching them for new artists to target and con money (or time) out of. These are never real people wanting art from you and are always scammers who have no interest in paying you for your hard work.

One of the most common things is that they will never look at your commission sheet or read your TOS, and will avoid answering any specific questions you may have since they’re not here to talk. Their talking is just trying to flatter you (claiming they love your art) and to make you think you’ll be getting a lot of money for little work. Unfortunately, these blogs do not want to pay you and they will not give you the funds no matter how much it is.

These kind of scammers will ask for your email and then send you a fake PayPal email claiming they sent you money but there was a problem and you need to ‘upgrade’ your account to receive the funds. This email is not officially sent by PayPal and is made to scare you into thinking something has went wrong. Do not worry. It is not a real PayPal email. It is a fake one.

Keep in mind these scam blogs will not use the payment methods you already offer. Their task is getting your email then trying to get your personal information.

If someone’s offering to pay you $300+ for a simple drawing of a generic dog took off Google images, be wary of the account and ask them questions first. If you feel like something is off, cut contact and report them immediately before blocking them.

If you drew the art anyway, just edit the drawing to have a block of text saying the commissioner was a scammer and then advertise your commissions!

Always have a clear Terms of Service around payment options and do not let high payments trick you into drawing for scammers.

I am post this with the art tag as it relates to art and the current situation of artists over here now getting the same scam messages that deviantART users get. Please share this post to your art friends.

[shadowfoxsilver]

Another quick scam spotting guide

How to tell if the blog that sent you an ask to share a pinned pet post is a scam:

Turn on timestamps and check the date of the pinned post. Usually it is a few hours old though may also be a week old or more depending on when you looked at it.

Scroll the posts of the account. If there is only a few here and there, the account shared them minutes apart to look more legitimate and didn’t think anyone would look further than that. If the reblog date is older then the source post, the account backdated the reblog.

Move your mouse over the PayPal address and look at the thru-link. Does the country of origin match the location of the vet itself? If it doesn’t, somethings amiss. On mobile, press and hold down on the link to see the thru-link.

Search the username or PayPal name in tumblr search. This should bring up any alerts posted for the account. If none are found, it’s likely a new account that hasn’t been documented yet and doesn’t mean it’s legitimate.

If still unsure, publicly answer the ask (don’t answer it privately) and request the sender to take a picture of the pet with a paper that has the blogs name on it. Alternatively, ask them why the PayPal origin doesn’t match the vet location. If the blog blocks you instead of answering, then congrats! It was a scam.

[the-kipsabian]

spammer removed o7

you love to see it, great work gang! 💜

[workingwhileidream]

These scam asks are so funny because

1) I was in school at a time when home computers were relatively new and the internet was expanding rapidly. Because of this, many schools had a block of time dedicated to learning how to use computers and had lessons on internet safety. I had it drilled in to me to be suspicious about anyone online asking me for money and how to spot scams.

2) I am an internet clown who makes just enough to keep myself alive and can barely afford joy or hobbies let alone donate money to anyone

[tracfone]

Have I made this post before....can't remember honestly. Anyways. I've noticed my links do not embed when I try to paste shortened GoFundMe urls for fundraisers on here anymore, so protip that when you click on a fundraiser and want to share it, open it in your web browser and copy paste the link in the URL bar rather than hitting the share button. I don't know how true this is for everyone but I feel like people are more likely to click an embedded link with a preview vs copypasting an url from the post itself or clicking a link

[msfangirlgonewild]

Hello dears! I am Mohammed and I am asking you to support my campaign to help me achieve my goal. I am in dire need of your support now to help me stay alive and safe. Gaza is a very dangerous place both in terms of living and lives. I need your financial support to enable me to get the basic needs for my family until the Rafah crossing is reopened to transport my family to safety and peace. Please help a family stay alive through your small donations or through your shares to others. Thank you very much for standing by those in need.

How about fuck your feeling and WE know what’s you’re planning you sniveling scammer😡

[koko-heads]

hey just so you know that ask might be a scam, the blog was only created 9 hours ago. don’t know for certain but it’s definitely possible

oh shoot , thanks for letting me know

[transmascfemfreak]

Hello! I’ve been so ill this past few weeks and been hospitalized because of medical concerns. Found out that I have a tumor and it was already malignant. I have a Stage 2A Cervical Cancer and needs help ASAP. 🥺

GOAL: $1800

I've done these posts a lot but I think that again all of my followers should follow these few steps on figuring out whether a donation cause is real or not.

The biggest thing that you should check for is when was the account created/ how long have they been reblogging things.

this account has only existed, as much as I can tell, since today!

I hate to be a grammar police because I have dyslexia and I know not everyone's first language is English, but it's also important to check the overall wording of the posts and bio. In this case, the bio says "disable parent" instead of disabled which I do realize could be a genuine typo but.

Also if you feel like clicking around a little bit, check where the link leads. a lot of the genuine donations will go to a go fund me or a similar well-known platform versus this person who goes straight to a PayPal link with just their name.

Anyways I would appreciate it if people would stop trying to scam me, thanks vry much!

[tungledotedu]

uh why the fuck would you say this

this post has 3000 notes and they get worse.

el-shab-hussein has already explained why he no longer shares how he vets individual fundraisers. scammers will use the information to be less obvious, making it more difficult to spot them.

and senatortedcruz's post has no actual proof of a widespread scam. that is a serious accusation to make, yet people are reblogging it and accepting it as true with no evidence. i won't deny that there are individual grifters on tumblr, but there are accounts like @/neechees, kyra45 and anonthescambuster that will help you avoid them. hussein even has a #scam alert tag for this purpose.

it's racist to spread misinformation about a supposed large-scale deception posing as fundraisers, not to mention dangerous because this makes it less likely for gazans to get what they need to survive and escape relentless airstrikes. we've already seen the consequences of this bias. some of these people are all too happy to be cops and harass or report gazans thinking they're bots or 'spamming' inboxes.

almost nobody on that post is encouraging others to donate to organisations or other vetted lists like those by operation olive branch, which has a faq sheet that explains how they verify fundraisers. i suspect this is an attempt to discourage people from helping palestinians altogether.

gazans are making fundraisers because they have no other choice. many of them cannot work and earn money as their workplaces have been destroyed. some have been disabled by injuries thanks to the iof's targeting of civilians. the fault is on israel for besieging them and on the egyptian government for exploiting their need to evacuate.

they're doing this for the same reason they have been posting photographs and videos of genocide so that people will pay attention to their suffering, so the world will not forget. is it such a leap in logic to understand they will also use social media to start fundraisers? do you just expect them to sit there and die in silence? so you can ignore them and your countries can keep arming israel as it commits atrocities?

[my-silly-poker]

gaza scam warning

I'm locking this post because it was about the original wave of gaza-scams and is now outdated when it comes to recent real fundraisers that have been appearing on Tumblr. Please don't pass up people in need because you're afraid of scams. Identifying scams from the real fundraisers is easy.

@el-shab-hussein does a lot of vetting on Tumblr. @nabulsi is another reliable user who has done vetting (but as of this time is not vetting new posts). @90-ghost is a real palestinian person but they don't do a lot of in-depth vetting.

el-shab-hussein and nabulsi have a vetted fundraiser google sheet. el-shab-hussein has a list of direct contacts in gaza/yemen who are certifiably real people. operation olive branch is a coordinated effort to gather certified crowdfunding campaigns both for families and humanitarian provisions.

When you receive an ask, check any of the above resources to see if they're there. Some also have pre-existing social media accounts, such as Instagram, that they certify as theirs and prove that they are a real person in Palestine. Scroll down their blog, look at the notes in their post, and look for confirmation that they are verified anywhere (do not trust their claims until you see the confirmation yourself).

Then if you see confirmation that they are a real person in Palestine who needs help, reblog their post and maybe donate $5.

Feel free to message me about anyone who sends you an ask that seems suspicious and I'll tell you if they resemble any scam archetypes I've seen.

Original post:

Hey gamers, recently there have been a number of scam blogs on tumblr claiming to be Gazan victims. They've been making a number of iterations of the exact same blog and story but with different names and sometimes different PayPal links.

Thus far, the content of these scams are being stolen from 2 real fundraisers. Please lend your aid to these people who need help instead of the disgusting scam farm

Help Haya Orouq's family escape Gaza

Help Rawan AbuMahady's family escape Gaza

These are examples within the past month which have been deleted.

Ma22ya

Khalilhan

jovialsuitdonutai

miniaturepostkingjaiur

Donation scams on tumblr are extremely common and anyone who has a tumblr account will encounter them at some point. You have likely encountered them before and not realized it. They throw together a brand new blog with a story of needing aid, then use bots to go through follow lists and post notes to send messages to random users. Scambusting blogs like kyra45 do a lot of work to track and call out these scams when they surface.

Scam Spotting Tips

They send an ask often accompanied with a follow despite having never interacted with you before. Ask yourself: How did you find your blog? These interactions usually come out of nowhere when you have no original posts or interests they could've found you through, because they're just going down the lists of random blogs.

They reblog just enough posts to make you think that their blog is in-use when it is actually only a day or a few old. Enable timestamps and try find the blog's oldest post; if a blog seems old but still seems suspicious, be wary of post backdating

They often disable or delete comments on their donation post to hide comments that call them out. Open the notes and see if it says "some replies have been hidden, blocked or removed." Blocked/hidden comments sometimes still appear in reblogs of a post but not the original, so open a random reblog and see if telling comments appear there.

It isn't unusual for the story and the ask to either be exact copy-pastes of each other, or otherwise have very telling suspicious details, such as: using different names, having different goal amounts, contrasting story details, etc. Pay attention to and trust the suspicion of details that stand out as odd.

Like many of the above examples, they often use an automatically generated username consisting of random words

Reverse image searching can be a helpful giveaway if it works, but don't trust it entirely - scammers often steal images from private Facebook groups/profiles or alter the images so that people don't find the source. An image not having a source should also be suspicious, as you should wonder why this person's social media presence is exclusively a 3 day old tumblr blog

When you receive an ask from a blog like this, reporting them for spam or phishing and reporting the PayPal account for fraudulent activity does help get these accounts taken down.

In name of the situation, here are great verified resources to support real people who need help:

Many organizations and gofundmes for Gaza

Verified fundraisers for individuals in Gaza put together by @palestineasdiqa on Instagram and Twitter

Click to donate for free using ad revenue

Participation and political resources for US, UK and Canada

USPCR's toolkit

[kyra45]

A compilation of links to my video attempts at explaining art scams:

I explain commission scams to you

Explaining art scams again

Explaining commission scams further

A collection of post links about art scams:

Commission/Mural scams

Commissioner scams

(I’ll add art-related tags but also my own commissions are open.)

[shadowfoxsilver]

Some quick tips to spotting accounts that are pretending to be a Palestinian needing mutual aid. Please keep in mind that not all of them are scam accounts, and that some may legitimate blogs who just aren’t too knowledgeable on how tumblr works. This guide is based around what I go by when checking certain blogs and usually it’s a quick giveaway the blog is a scam.

Please read this post too from my other blog before you tell people don’t donate to gfms:

1. You was sent the ask as someone who regularly shares Palestine related content such as regular news updates of posts by other Palestinians who are regularly giving updates. You may also get these asks from sharing a popular post that is from the Palestine tag. If you post often about Palestine, you will always start getting these asks. These askers don’t care if you state don’t send the asks. They will anyway. Unfortunately minors also get sent asks.

2. The ask has odd formatting such as having odd quotation marks in it or unusual formatting that may indicate it’s been edited and copied from somewhere else. Often the ask is the same thing as the post itself minus a link to a donation site. These asks rarely change so searching it should pull up if it’s been sent to other bloggers and sometimes the asks are edited only to add new phrases to them in time.

3. The account is almost always a few days old or a week old or long depending on how often they have sent asks. Usually some may even be an hour old and reusing a familiar pfp/ask.

4. The blog has a few Palestine related posts or posts from random tags reblogged to pad out length and then no more. They will have no original posts besides the pinned post while occasionally answering asks that they may have received but otherwise nothing else and no further updates given either.

5. They may have a Linktree link that is called “GoFundMe” as if indicating they have a GoFundMe there. However, they don’t. When clicked on, the Linktree actually goes to a PayPal account whose name may not even match the one their supposed name is. They’ll say it’s a friend, but it’s just the same person not someone else. You’ll see this same name across multiple accounts after a while usually giving away it’s not legitimate even under a different theme.

6. The text used by the blogs are often real stories stolen from legitimate fundraisers and searching parts of it in your preferred search engine should pull up the sources. These sources make no mention of a tumblr account either or don’t have the PayPal account associated with them in the info. Scammers often impersonate a real person in need and will ignore you if you show them the source they copied from.

7. Legitimate Palestinians often link to their own GoFundMe posts that their friends have set up or post links to other social platforms they are found on. They will regularly post updates when possible, post sources to support them when necessary, and also generally have some method of verifying their legitimacy. They may often share links to support others as well or give links to charities that have been shown as reliable. They will have more original posts than just a single pinned one and regularly speak to other tumblr accounts beyond just an ask. Please don’t bother them with asks about possible scam accounts. There are many guides out there that can do that for you if you search. You may find verified fundraisers too.

8. Scammers don’t know anything about Palestine and will often have trouble once you ask them anything beyond the mutual aid post. They don’t know the languages decently and you can tell it pretty easily if you’re one who uses it regularly. Whatever the scammers use is often just copied off the site they got the post from. Sometimes the text is just reused from past scams such as asking for insulin that doesn’t last long.

9. These scammers can and will use names stolen off real Palestinians to look more legitimate and trustworthy. They change names constantly once one of their PayPal accounts is shut down.

10. If you do see a GoFundMe link on a blog, don’t immediately assume it’s a scam just because it’s a relatively new account. Check the post notes to see if anyone’s verified the account yet or wait a bit as it takes time. You likely can search around to see if anyone’s posted anything where the blog has been vetted by others. You may also see if the GoFundMe is referred to on other socials or on lists that compile verified and vetted fundraisers.

Please don’t let these scams deter you from sending support where it needs to go. Even if you can’t donate personally, there are other ways to help. If you are sending money, please make sure that it’s going to where it’s needed and the place it’s sent has been verified accordingly. If you find a blog is a scammer, and have been able to prove it, please make sure to alert anyone sharing the post and report the account.

[slenbee]

Current Scammers - 12/11/24

Disclaimer: This list is only meant to serve as documentation and reference material so that others know: what to look out for in regards to a scam, and who to block preemptively if you so choose. I do not, in any way, endorse harassment or mass reporting these users. Do NOT do this. I'm serious. DO NOT mass report. Only report these asks if you GET them or ones like them. Thank you.

Part 2

THIS POST IS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED

Please refer to Part 3 for current scammers.

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This is the current list of scammers pretending to be Palestinians from Gaza asking for money (USD) through PayPal rather than via an official fundraising site like GoFundMe. Many of these accounts have non Palestinian names attached to the PayPal accounts while using real Palestinian names on tumblr stolen from real people. The accounts that claim to be vetted are in fact, NOT vetted by any well known group or organization, and they will beat around the bush or straight up block you if you ask for proof. All of these scammers follow a similar but slightly 'altered' script, and multiple scam accounts are usually run by one person. They will usually reblog a handful of posts after they join, then not reblog anything else, or give updates on their aid situation (like a normal user would). Also, if you look at their pinned posts, most have comments/replies turned off, and or have comments deleted/removed. I wonder why? :) Here is a comprehensive guide on how to spot these scams.

Thank you to @kyra45 for providing the list. I just wanted to provide the explanation(s) so people are aware of what exactly these people are trying to do and/or how they are 'scamming' others.

Note: Most evidence linked will be call out posts that can usually be found by searching an accounts username on tumblr. If you are suspicious of an ask you receive, I suggest you search their username to see if they've been reported by other users! If you have the time. please take a moment to report the PayPal connected to these scam accounts. Thank you!

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index:

A > usually mean a name change.

A + usually means multiple accounts running the same scam.

(banned) blogs will remain as reference/evidence until the newer accounts pop up.

I'm probably flipflopping < and + in places, but you get the idea. lol

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Insulin Scams: A guide on how to spot it and where it came from.

@furryreviewearthquake (banned)- Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here and here

@gladysconnoisseurpost (banned)-Insulin Scam - NOT vetted. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here and here

weepingwerewolfdestiny (banned) + @maximumdinosaurbouquet (banned)- Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here and here

@foggyruinspost (banned) + @foggyruinsblog (banned) - Insulin Scam - NOT Vetted. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@daregosh (banned)- Insulin Scam - NOT Vetted. Story stolen. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@cleversuitsoul (banned)- Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence that it's a scam: here

@veemiraclettastemaker (banned) + @shaaaliminneedofinsulin (banned)- Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@profoundcollectionangel (banned) + @supportgazalady (banned) + @perfectlythoughtfulbanana (banned) - Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. -Evidence it's a scam: here

@fuzzychildlight > @qualitycherryblossombluebird (banned) - Insulin Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@sitatimohamed (banned)- Insulin Scam - PayPal name (Mohamed Sitati) was previously used by the account yusufzalk (banned). - Evidence it's a scam: here

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@janeursular-bakir > @gaza-family1 (banned)- Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. Evidence it's a scam: here

@magicalbluebirdkitty (banned) - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@a-mother-of-gaza (banned)- Evacuation Scam -Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@family-of-gaza (banned)- Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@reallyuniquedaze (banned)- Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@maximumtriumphmagazine - Evacuation Scam - Stole images from a real artist. Artist confirmed via e-mail not related. Uses fake gofundme for asking donations. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@perfectlovercat (banned)- Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@makozh (banned)- Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@boldlynumberonejellyfish (banned) - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@al-rasher (banned) - Evacuation Scam - Fake GoGetFunding campaign. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@fredannuarsblog > @abdullahwahhab - Evacuation Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

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@tinytreewombat (banned) - Cancer Scam - Not vetted. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@cherrylydia (banned)- Cancer Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@dimoral (banned)- Cancer Scam - Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@hltabdallah (banned)- Medical Scam - Uses stolen images. Asks for PayPal. - Evidence it's a scam: here

@superbballoonsalad - Medical Scam - Stolen images. Was previously cherylbieryl. Asks for PayPal. (has deleted their post) - Evidence it's a scam: here

---------- Scammers that have been banished to the shadow realm: gaza-diabetes-childrenhelp -- toopeanutsweets --bitchygardenarcade/holywerewolfgiver -- colorfulgladiatordelusion -- perfectpiratewonderland -- happyladyparadise -- burrningmydreamshelppme -- yusufzalk

Celebrate with me by giving a click to help feed rescue and shelter animals. You can also visit their other click-able options that help breast cancer, hunger, Alzheimer's, and Veterans. :)

[adragonofthings]

Scam blogs (and how to spot them)

Unfortunately, scams do exist on tumblr. That is why it’s key to always try to search around when someone’s sent you a request for mutual aid. Not every account is trying to scam you and for the most part there is legitimate blogs who need your help. Sadly there are also scammers who pretend to be needing mutual aid as well so here is a simple guide to figuring out scams.

How old is the account? The pinned post usually is a good way to tell if the account contacting you is new or old. If you scroll the posts, you should see if they were made around the same time as the account.

How many posts are on the account? Most blogs will have more than just a few posts here and there. After all, a well used blog has thousands of posts for you to look at.

Are there more original posts? Usually someone needing help will have multiple posts of their own instead of a single post that’s pinned. They will also post updates regularly regarding their situation and answer asks clarifying details when necessary.

What does the link on the pinned post say? If it’s a linktree claiming to be a GoFundMe link, that’s something to be suspicious of because it’s likely not. If the link is an actual GoFundMe link that isn’t a linktree link then that usually means the account is legitimate and may have shared posts verifying who they are if you scroll a little.

Is the ask being mass sent to users? While this is done by legitimate accounts too, it’s unfortunately also commonly done by scammers. If you search the ask you got you may find it was sent to multiple accounts across several months and from several different senders with no changes to the overall text itself. Even the formatting errors are not fixed.

Are there any warnings out for the username? Try searching the senders username to see if anyone’s made a post claiming the account is a scam. There should at least be one post about them. If not, it’s likely that they are too new to have been reported yet.

Are you a well known account? How likely is it someone would find you without searching specific tags or posts for users to contact? Think about it. How often does someone send you asks for money that is a relatively new account with only a few reblogs and only one original post? If it’s almost daily, then you should be wary of the asks.

What do you find if you search part of the pinned post in your preferred search engine? If a fundraiser pops up using the same text and doesn’t mention using another mutual aid method, it’s highly likely the blog sending you the ask is impersonating a real person who needs support.

Does the mutual aid post make sense? Some scammers don’t know how medicine works and may list some that don’t work like claimed. They’ll just use whatever sounds ‘right’ without further research. Someone who needs medication will always know what their medicine does they don’t guess because they’ll usually have a doctors paper they go by.

If you have properly recognized a scammer and have fully been able to confirm that their a scammer with enough evidence, please report scam accounts and alert anyone whose shared the scam post.