If you spend a lot of time online, you might think you’re too smart to fall for scams. But the reality is, everyone is susceptible — even people like my chronically online friend, who just lost a bunch of money in a scam involving a fake Tumblr employee.
How the scam happened
My friend, who gave permission to share her story but didn’t want to be named, recently received a reply on a Tumblr post that accused her of fraud, claiming users were mass-reporting her account, and putting her on the line for US$500 (about C$700). The reply said that to solve the issue, she would need to send them a direct message (DM).
When my friend contacted them and they told her that her account had been mass-reported for fraud, she was on the line for the money, and her Tumblr account would be IP-banned. She was directed to speak to what turned out to be someone impersonating Ari Levine from Tumblr on Discord. Levine is the Head of Revenue & Growth at Automattic, and the Discord account had his first, last name and profile picture.
The fake Levine explained to her that she was being accused of fraud by a number of users. While there was no proof she had committed any fraud, my friend was told she must send US$500 to Tumblr’s Assurance team to remove the mass-report, and it would be returned to her within 15 minutes of being sent.
My friend, terrified of losing the community she had developed on Tumblr, agreed to send the $500 in Bitcoin to the scammers via Cash App. (It’s worth noting here that requests for money in crypto can be a significant warning sign that something is fraudulent.)
Following this, the scammers demanded more money, claiming the Assurance team required more to clear the account. She explained that she had no more money to give, and the fake Ari Levine told her that, since this is a fraud, federal and state law were involved. They even called my friend through Discord and spoke to her, explaining that they would file a report with state law enforcement, that the money is 100 per cent refundable, and even showed an image of a TD bank payment being sent back to her, for the original amount, plus the additional amount they were asking for.
She called me about what was going on, and I suggested to her that it was a scam.
At this point, the fake Levine got more aggressive and threatened her with police involvement until she blocked the account. She reported the accounts with Tumblr and is considering police involvement, but she lost the money.
Tumblr is aware of scams like this and has warnings about scams on its help website.
A warning for others
Admittedly, this is something my friend shouldn’t have fallen for, but it’s easy to see how the scammers preyed on her fear in the moment. While this particular incident happened on Tumblr, similar scams can take place on any social media website where you’ve built a community. My friend has been an avid Tumblr user for the past couple of decades, and has developed friends, community, and even a family there. And unfortunately, my friend has had a tough time monetarily, and in the past has reached out to her Tumblr friends for money via posts.
It even seems possible that my friend was specifically targeted on Tumblr. My friend is also pretty avid on Twitter, but the scammers only reached out on Tumblr. This could be happenstance, but it’s unclear.
Either way, it’s important for everyone to be careful online. As the Tumblr help page mentions, “Outside of official Tumblr accounts and our support email, staff will never message you, reply to your messages, or notify your account. Also, Tumblr will never ask for money besides for Premium subscription and what’s sold in TumbrMart.” Most online platforms have similar rules around staff not asking for money.
You might be afraid of losing something important, but take a moment and think before sending your money. And it’s important to remember that anyone can get scammed, so it’s worth always being cautious.
Canadian resources
Since scams like these could impact anyone, we put together a list of resources to help Canadian fraud victims. Canadians can report fraud or cybercrime online at the RCMP’s recently-launched reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca. They can also report by phone as well with this toll-free number: 1-888-495-8501.
The CRA website also details potential signs of a scam. It may be a scam if someone:
“Demands immediate payment
“Uses threatening language
“Sends you a link and asks you to click on it
“Asks for personal or financial information
“Requests payment by cryptocurrency or gift cards”
The RCMP also has some suggestions when you’ve been the victim of a scam:
“Stay calm and gather all the information you can on the incident
“Report it to your local police and your financial institutions
“Visit Report Cybercrime and Fraud and click ‘Report online’. Upload any evidence you have of the incident. This could include images or screen captures, proof of transaction or receipts, or text messages and emails.”
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