Two women recently went viral on TikTok after sharing how they fell for a Reddit and iMessage scam run by someone claiming to be selling tickets to a Gracie Abrams concert.
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TikTok user Angela Culp (@badbabesboudoir) and her friend Megan tracked their interactions with a scammer who apparently conned women out of $530 between them and two “roommates.” I recorded a video that seems to be.
“We were just fooled,” Culp said. “I’m going to tell you how they did it so it doesn’t happen to you guys.” As of Thursday night, her clip had more than 95,000 views. .
Reddit, iMessage ticket scam
Culp, a music fan (and self-proclaimed “Swiftie”), said she believes she is usually good at catching would-be scammers. However, things changed after she and a friend tried to buy tickets. Abrams concert in New York Through Reddit.
Culp said she expressed interest in purchasing tickets after a Reddit user messaged her and offered to sell two tickets to the concert for $265 each.
The content creator said he trusted the redditor. That’s because they first agreed to exchange through PayPal’s products and services. With PayPal, buyers are entitled to a refund if they do not receive the item they paid for or if the item is not what they ordered.
But to sort out the “practical details,” the alleged scammer, named Jesse, asked them to switch to texting via iMessage.
“I thought, ‘Wow, it’s iMessage.’ They have to be legal,” Culp said.
Scammers used these tactics to gain trust
Jesse continued to gain the trust of women. Not only did she share her full name, she frequently used emojis in her communications. In addition, Culp said Jesse sent a photo of the ticket allegedly in Apple Wallet, as well as a screenshot of the confirmation email from when he originally purchased the ticket.
“They were very personable,” Culp said. “I feel like I’m just like the other scammers. [use] Broken text and misspellings…to ticket scammers, it seems like that’s not what they do. ”
Eventually, Jesse and Culp, with Megan’s help, agree to exchange payments via PayPal. However, this came with many problems. Culp said Jessee repeatedly insisted he could not ask for money. And when Culp offered to send him $530, Jesse refunded him, claiming he needed the cash right away and couldn’t wait until PayPal’s 28-day hold period was over.
“Here they earned our trust and our emotions got the best of us,” Megan said.
Women struggle to transfer funds
Jesse then asked the women to send PayPal to their boyfriends, which, in hindsight, Megan thought was the first red flag.
“I sent $530. It will pass, but [Jesse] They say it’s going to take 24 hours, so that doesn’t work,” Culp said. She said Jesse refunded this money immediately so she and Megan could[trusted] This girl is with us. ”
Unable to send money to Jesse, the women looked for alternatives. First they tried Venmo, which apparently didn’t work. So Jesse suggests sending money to one of his roommates through Facebook Messenger.
“It feels like a team effort,” Culp said. “It seems like Jesse really wants us to come to this concert, but he also wants money.”
Remittance methods and locations
As the clock neared showtime, the women finally came up with what they thought was a viable solution. Megan sent $100 through Venmo to one of Jesse’s roommates (named Tyler), and Culp sent another $230 through Facebook Messenger to another roommate (named Chris). . Still, I was $200 short.
“The remaining $200 will be given to Chris via Facebook Messenger,” Culp said. But Jesse continued to insist that the last money didn’t go through, she said.
Culp, who really wanted to go to the concert because there were 30 minutes until the show started, said Apple cashed out the remaining $200 to Jesse. That’s when they both realized something was wrong. Culp said Chris blocked her on Facebook. Jesse also blocked her from iMessage.
“That’s when we realized we had been scammed,” Culp said. “I feel like scammers are getting smarter and smarter, so be careful.”
How to avoid Reddit iMessage ticket scams
Culp emphasized that she and Megan are usually pretty good when it comes to catching scammers. There are some red flags they are looking out for. These are merchants who refuse to accept payments for PayPal products and services, and people who don’t “speak like normal people.”
But Jesse’s case was special. In fact, Culp called the woman a “friend.”
But in general, experts recommend some tips to avoid scammers. First, concertgoers should purchase tickets through official sources such as Ticketmaster or AXS whenever possible. writing from Core First Bank & Trust He also supported avoiding peer-to-peer payment services (like Zelle and Venmo). They also say to avoid sellers you meet on social media.
“Only buy resale tickets from people you know, such as friends, family, or colleagues,” it says. “Beware of strangers on social media platforms!”
Viewers empathize with the women
But when you’re in a bind and feel like you can trust the seller, like Culp and Megan did, it can be easy to ignore the red flags. As a result, several people commented that they could sympathize with the women who fall into Jesse’s trap.
One viewer wrote: “I think this is one of the only scam videos I’ve seen that convinces you that you’ve been scammed.”
“Oh my god, they’re getting too good,” said another.
A third viewer admitted: “I’m not going to lie, I would have been fooled.” “They were too good.”
Other commenters pointed out red flags that buyers should be wary of when purchasing tickets from someone they met online.
“It’s a big red flag when your bank says they don’t accept Zelle. All the big banks in the U.S. do,” one person noted.
“Any ‘friends’ she had would have been too much for me,” another admitted.
“Always ask for a screen” [recordings] Tickets too,” said a third woman. “Just a screenshot is no longer useful.”
@badbabesboudoir Don’t get scammed with tickets like we were!!! Scammers are getting more and more creative so we felt we needed to tell this whole story. Were there any red flags? True 🤣 But we don’t have to because we are the victims and we learned!! 😭 #Glacia Brams #Glacia Brams #cheated#greenscreen #Ticket scam #graciabrams new york #secret fas ♬ Original song – Angela Culp
The Daily Dot reached out to Culp and Megan through their TikTok comments.
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