I was recently contacted via Instagram private message by someone posing as an old friend. I have known the individual they were impersonating for about twenty years and I am already following that person on Instagram. Since the real person was active on Instagram earlier that day, I found it odd that he would set-up another account. A quick check of the real account showed no mention of setting-up another account and the poser had simply copied one of his posts and his profile picture.
Right away, I knew that I was dealing with an imposter. But, I wanted to colect as much information as I could about whatever scam he was running, in order to warn others. But, I also thought it might make an interesting blog post.
So, I led him on, rather than just block him outright.
Setting the Stage
The scammer's PMs started-off on a rather friendly vein, asking me how I was. But, since time is money, he got right to the point of trying to lure me into his scam. I've condensed the posts a bit, but you'll get the idea.
l'm doing great, is good to hear from you Just checking on you and wondering if you heard about the recent good news lately.?
I meant the personal grant donated to selected people by the DHHS subvention program, have you heard about it yet?
It's a new program specifically based on helping paying for Medical Bills, Buying a home, Salesman Starting their Own Business,Retired Teachers, with Seniors old and Retired people. Did they come to your home?
Actually I was granted some amount of $75,000 from DHHS agent when I applied and you don't have to pay it back, I think as a citizen you also have the right to benefit from this program and I wonder if you've gotten yours too?
I don't know many people who use the word "subvention" in regular conversation. Add to that the needless and out-of-place capitalizations and I soon realized that this person is not a native English speaker and was trying to use fancy-sounding words in order to impress me. With the financial hardships faced by many Americans during the COVID19 pandemic, the thought of getting large amounts of financial aid from the federal government would sound like a dream come true.
The scammer must have thought that he had me on his hook, so he offered me the way to quickly get my hands on some of that sweet, sweet money.
Should i give you the AGENT text number where i applied so you can also apply there too?
(412) 587-4682
here’s the agent private text number who helped me got the grant money so text them now for me to confirm maybe I have you there right contact
So, I'm supposed to send a text to the "agent" in order to apply for a grant?
Let's see what the DHHS really says about applying for a grant:
Quick Facts about the Government Grant Process
Government grant applications and information about them are free.
The names of agencies and foundations that award grants are available for free at any public library or on the Internet.
The only official access point for all federal grant-making agencies is www.grants.gov.
There are no fees associated with applying for a government grant.
ALL government grants involve an application process to carry out projects with a public purpose and are not intended for personal use.
You will not be contacted by the government to make you pay for a grant.
You can apply for a DHHS grant by going to https://www.hhs.gov/grants/grants/get-ready-for-grants-management/index.html
I Go Deeper
So, after being given the text number of this fake agent, I also sent a text to that number, using a burner account and here are the responses I received
HELLO! My Name is Attorney THOMAS SCOTT the administrator in charge of the ongoing DHHS grant program which is an empowerment of the UNITED NATIONS to promote international monetary cooperation, facilitate international trade, foster sustainable economic growth, make resources available to members experiencing balance of payments difficulties around the world.This program is a worldwide promotional tour embarked on for the disabled, Unemployed, Student, Workers, Retired, Young & Old people. the on going grant isn’t a loan and you do not have to pay us back. Are you ready to apply..?
YOU WILL HAVE TO BE HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY WITH ME SO THAT I CAN HELP YOU GET YOUR GRANT MONEY AND YOU’LL HAVE TO FILL OUT A REQUIREMENT FORM WITH ME NOW SO THAT WE CAN LOCATE YOUR DESTINATION AT THE POINT OF DELIVERY....ARE YOU READY TO FILL OUT THE FORM NOW SO THAT I CAN PROCEED WITH YOU IMMEDIATELY..?
REQUIREMENT DETAILS .
FullName——
Full home address—
City——
State———
Country———
Zipcode-——
Age_________
Male or Female——
Monthly income——
Cash or check________
Do you want your grant delivered by FedEx or UPS....
FILL IT OUT AND SEND BACK THE ANSWERS TO ME HERE ONE AFTER THE OTHERS
Much like scammers I have written about in the past, there was an awful lot of needless capitalization throughout their messages to me.
Back on Instagram, I was informed that there is supposed to be some sort of "tracking fee" that I would have to pay before I received my grant.
All you just have to do is to fill out a fedex form with them so they'll be able to locate your home address where your money will be deliver to you after 5hours you pay for the tracking fee
I was just told to pay $300 and I got the money delivered to my door step after 5hours my payment confirmed
I've never heard of the federal government using anything other than the United States Postal Service to deliver its letters and/or checks. So, the idea of the DHHS using FedEx to do the job was ridiculous on its face. Using the USPS almost guarantees that your mail will reach your address, while UPS and FedEx delivery drivers have a bad reputation for simply leaving your packages at your door where anyone can pick them up. Given a choice between USPS, UPS and FedEx, I'll take the US Postal Service every time, especially after that time UPS really put a knot in my jockstrap.
But, what the hell is a "tracking fee"? Sure, USPS Priority mail does offer tracking, which is included in the price, while FedEx automatically provides you with a tracking number when you send a package.
But, charging $300 for a tracking number?
Seriously?
So, I texted the "agent" and asked about the "tracking fee". Here's what he said:
When looking for financial assistance, remember that there are differences between grants and loans. You are required to pay back a loan, often with interest. You are not required to pay back a GRANT,you only pay for the delivery fee.
The amount charges will be determined by the amount you qualify for but the delivery fees lowest price is 200 kindly fill out the form and send back the answers to me here one after the others so that we locate your destination at the point of delivery and to proceed on your winning
Yes you will have to fill out the form now so that we can locate your destination at the point of delivery and your age for the winning amount you will be qualify for from the DHHS
Notice how a "grant" became a "winning"? Did you notice that? I noticed that because I'm smart, while the scammers are too stupid to stay on-script.
This momentary slip in their narrative makes me think that these people were pulling-off fake lottery scams or something like them before they branched-out to DHHS scams.
The Instagram PMs I received told me how very easy it was to get them money, only taking five hours to get approved, which is light speed compared to how tediously slow the federal government approval system really is for the rest of us.
Yes I already got the money delivered to my door step after 5hours I got qualified so when j received the money I quickly pay off my old bills and save the rest to the bank so bank verify its real not fake it's too good to be true the blessed can't be complain and I'm really thanking God for the blessings
I got a check delivered to my door step from there fedex delivering men
Of course, the "agent" laid a little marmalade on this turd biscuit with
Grants are awarded to individuals each and every day. Grant program are not loans. You can also decide on how much you need as long as the amount is lawful and you meet up the Foundations and Government Agencies requirements. The money is yours to keep and never needs to be repaid. Grant money is non-taxable,non-refundable and interest-free.
They Start to Get Impatient
When I didn't respond fast enough to the "agent's" request for my personal information, he tried to hurry me along
Awaiting your response to avoid unnecessary delays and complications
He even called me on my burner account, in an attempt to speak to me directly. He called twice at about 2:00am my time and three times about eight hours later, but I didn't answer.
The fake Instagram account was shutdown due to complaints from the real person whom they were impersonating. The second imposter account was also shutdown fairly quickly. I forwarded the usernames of the fake accounts to my friend as soon as I became aware of their existence. He quickly filed complaints against both accounts, which resulted in their termination, I will admit that I would have preferred to have kept them around a little longer, in order to squeeze more information out of them without hinderance. But, my friend has his reputation to protect, so I simply had to get whatever I could.
Not being willing to give up on what they may have felt was a ready victim, the Instagram contact sent me texts via 412-547-6346, using the same number I had been using to contact the fake agent. He claimed that he had found my number in his email, but I never shared my burner number with my real friend and I really haven't had it for very long because it was only set-up by me after I discarded my previous burner number.
So, the individual was either in direct contact with the "agent" or they are the same person. Both numbers share an area code.
- The "agent" 412-587-4682
- The imposter 412-547-6346
You know i can never lie about this okay trust me for that. you know i hate scam and hoax, but this is real, i got the money for real,you know if i knew this is a scam i wont tell you about it. i am planning to start a business buy a house soon. so you have nothing to worry about okay?
When I didn't respond in a way that he liked, I sense that I may have hurt his precious, little feelings
Now you get your money Duane and you don't know me again well it's yours not mine so keep blessings
Epilogue
It's been almost twelve hours since I was last contacted by the scammers. However, I will update this post if anything else comes my way.
If this post has helped you protect yourself from being scammed, alerted you that you have been scammed or you just want to help me in my quest to buy and electric bicycle, I'd appreciate a donation to my Electric Bike Fund.
Duane Browning
Venmo: @Duane-Browning-1
CashApp: $DuaneBrowning
