How I Fell for a Scam: A Cautionary Tale
Losing 1.5 SOL and the Lessons Learned
In hindsight, the warning signs were glaringly obvious, yet I chose to overlook them. Today, I want to share my experience so you can learn what to trust and what to question in the future. This is my story of how I was scammed by someone promising to promote my FaceHarmonyAI, only to attempt to extort more money and eventually block me. Below are 15 screenshots detailing our conversation, serving as a learning experience for you.
Red Flags I Missed
- This is a channel, and you can see no comments by the users.
- The logo is AI-generated, and not much thought has gone into it.
- In the IDs of the admins, typos are everywhere; there are no premium accounts.
- Posts are too good to be true. They always promote x19 or similar tokens that are likely not even endorsed by their team but handpicked by scammers to make the channel look good.
- There is excessive use of "Sir" or "Ser" in the communication (you know what it means).
- I checked the wallet; there was another 1.5 SOL going into that wallet from a project called Olive Tree ($OLVR: FGc9WRVzQCjSsY2up1Feax8yX6LE9CXuf3XAQT5t1637), but I couldn't find the promotion or ad anywhere on the channel. They also paid multiple times, which means they likely fell for the same scam.
Channel: @biggemsofficials
Other Associated IDs: @biggemsofficals, @biggemsCalls, @biggemsoffical, @BIG_GEMS5, @BIGgems3, @BIG_GEMS_ALT, @biggemsoffical
Scammer's ID: @biggemsoffical
Payment Wallet: FHManAfNKYTCaH8kFpEM4xhjsHKrPS4ccwL4tmNVW9Bt
Receiving Wallet: Hs6SibtKWjdKfSHZPdJ4tk15jZKnLFgFABg2j8HwvHKC
Verify the transaction: Solscan Link
Screenshot 0
This screenshot shows the main channel, current owners and associated accomplices.
Screenshot 1
Initial contact with the scammer to promote my project.
Screenshot 2
Knowing the price and also see that he is not pushy which is a good thing.
Screenshot 3
Coming back to him to see what is his idea on promoting the product.
Screenshot 4
Knowing that he also wants to collaborate which is a good thing.
Screenshot 5
Not much happening here.
Screenshot 6
He says, he is from California. I don't believe it but I'm not going to call him out on it.
Screenshot 7
He is suggesting to leave the post for tomorrow. This is a huge positive because I am thinking if he want to scam, he would be pusshing to do it now.
Screenshot 8
I come back again for the ad. I have also mentioned in the FaceHarmony group that I am going to do the ad today.
Screenshot 9
Getting the wallet address and checking the wallet on x.com and also previous trasactions. I am also noticing a trasaction fro Oliver Tree Project but didn't find any posting for it. I am thinking to myself maybe they paid for the ad and asked for it to posted at a different time.
Screenshot 10
I am just confirming with him that he is going to post the ad now as he said. He said yes. That's good.
Screenshot 11
Seeing the sentence "About to post now but something is not right." At this point I know it is over. I am just playing around and taking screenshots.
Screenshot 12
He is trying to extort more money which I know already happened to Olive Tree Project. I also know that he has no intention to post the ad.
Screenshot 13
He is just trying to say that it is not his fault and blah blah blah.
Screenshot 14
I am just giving him three options. First is that he posts the ad (even though I know it probbely even doesn't make any difference). Second is he does a refund (I know that he doesn't do that but just giving him the benefit iof the doubt). Third is that I will make a story out of it and let everyone know show that they can learn from my mistake (knwoing that it problbly doesn't stop him, does not kill his channel and worst case scenario he changes the name of the channel and ids goes to scam other people.).
Lessons Learned
- Check for all the red flags mentioned above.
- Never spend on ads in a channel without proof of people engaging in the comment section.
- Ask for a wallet that shows the history of projects that have been promoted before, ensuring they actually paid and the posts in the channel and the dates support it.