I Scammed the Scammer

It happened four days ago. I came from Metro Manila and am heading back to my provincial residence since I don’t have any scheduled in-person classes on the following days. When I arrived home, someone immediately messaged me on my Viber account. It was a woman asking me if I was interested in taking part in a part-time job opportunity.

If you’re the type of person who’s not aware of these scam messages, it will be tempting to accept the offer without doing any background checks. I mean, if you’re going to look at the brighter side of things, it’s the job looking for you already and not the other way around, right? So, why would you miss this opportunity?

But honestly, along with this easy earning potential lies a hidden truth. A scheme that they don’t want you to know. Luckily, I am already aware of the schemes they’re practicing. With that, I came prepared.

I replied that I am interested.

After reading my response, she sent me a message that contained information about the job. There’s also a very simple task that I need to do, which eventually guarantees me 120 pesos after successful completion. I just followed all the online shop accounts they provided on a certain e-commerce application, then I took a screenshot of each, proving that I finished the task, and then sent it to her.

After she reviewed the images I sent her, she asked me to provide my details along with my number so that she could send the payment. I sent her the fake details about me, but I sent her my real number. And in just a few minutes, the 120 pesos payment has been received.

You might think that this job seems legit since you didn’t give any money and you actually earn from just simple tasks, but it is their strategy to keep you hooked. The woman forwarded me to Telegram, where I met their so-called receptionist. That receptionist is the one who’s processing the payment. In addition, that is also the person who will ask you to invest in their scheme called the merchant welfare event. At this event, you can invest a certain amount of money with a promise of great interest in just a few minutes.

I never participated in that. But I continue participating in the simple tasks, which are the following only tasks. Each successful follow-up is equivalent to 30 pesos. Once you reach the minimum cashout threshold, which is 120 pesos, the receptionist will automatically process your payout. But the twist here is when you don’t participate in their merchant welfare, for how many times, they will lower your rate to 10 pesos, and that is the time when you can’t cash out your commission.

All in all, I earned 480 pesos by just following shops without investing anything. Since I can’t cash out the remaining commission, I ended up blocking the receptionist and the one who contacted me on Viber. I also deleted our messages on both. I changed my username on TG and my real name.

In summary, instead of me being scammed, they are the ones who get scammed.

Usually, I often just ignore these messages since I already know their goal, but I gave it a try. It’s not their money anyway, so I became their karma. I say, well deserved. Ciao!

Have you ever received any messages like this before? If yes, how do you handle it? What did you do?

Share your thoughts and answers with me using the comment section below!