Kim*
The Scam: “I fell for something called the ‘mural scam’ — a popular tactic at the time. An alleged art company emailed me that their client wanted to paint a mural of my Instagram photo, offering me $1,600 in compensation. Flattered but a little bit skeptical, I ultimately agreed to it. I received my $1,600 check, deposited it, and it cleared. Soon after, they told me I needed to pay the client a $300 fee via a money transfer app, which I didn’t mind because I technically would still be making $1,300. Ten days after I initially cashed the check, I woke up to my account so deep in the negatives because the check had bounced. Then, there was another twist: I found an Instagram account with the same username as the app account, so I reached out and asked for my money back. She told me the same company had contacted her with the same scheme, and they tricked her into investing my $300 in cryptocurrency. I tried disputing the transaction through the app customer service, but ultimately, they couldn’t help me.”
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