Ever heard of a "money flipping" scam?
Hundreds of (young) people fall prey to money flipping scams on social media every day. It happens on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, you name it.
If you use any social media, you need to know about this ploy. Your money is at stake!
If you use any social media, you need to know about this ploy. Your money is at stake!
Money flipping scams have been around forever. Even though they may have different variations, they all kind of work the same.
Here's how:
You receive a message on social media about a quick tip to double or triple your money—if you just give a small amount to the contact. Needless to say, the scammer makes a run with your money.
It looks appealing to participate: Pictures of pretty people swimming in money. Appealing headlines such as "double or triple your $20 investment in minutes!"
It Can Cost You Dearly
Unfortunately, like I said, it can cost you dearly. How much you lose depends on how much money you "chime in".
Listen to money flip victim Shonique, who actually got herself into a double flipcash whammy:
Shonique's money flip:
I had become acquainted with a young lady, we will call her Laki for short. She was on Instagram, and had a page making claims that the money is here, just ask for it.
Apparently, they get these whole certificates from Lexus and Toyota and in order to cash them, they needed to first put the money in your account and then, to not make it look suspicious, they make two withdrawals equaling about 1/2 the amount. You keep the rest!
Since I needed the money, and it seemed legit, I gave Laki my banking info. Next thing I know I no longer have access to my bank accounts! And all my money was gone!
I had to go to the police and report this fraudulent activity. I reached out to Laki again and again, but no response. Her IG page was now private to me.
While in the mist of that debauchery, another IG page using the WALMART name said that if you send $350, you will get $5,000 back. Walmart, that's a well-known name, right?
The page had videos of folks wearing Walmart gear while counting all that money, and folks walking out as if they won the lottery. Nice!
So my silly self went and forked over $350 via the Walmart Moneygram.... I waited 30 minutes.... Next, I got a message s today was a bonus day and that instead of $5,000, I would get $13,500. Oooohwheeee!!!! I was excited!!!
Then I got a message saying the money was ready for pickup. BUT... I had to fork over $6,700 (or some random number). Money I knew I did not have (remember, my bank account was raided!).
I begged and pleaded for them to take it out of the stated $13,5000. Why not? There's enough money there...
The person became belligerent and said that I could not get the money—or even get the original amount back because they don't do refunds. They also said that if I reported them, I would look stupid, because Walmart is real. I refused to send anything else, and now the person became upset and said they would lose their job. Yeah right!
I reported the Walmart page as fraudulent and they were shut down by IG pretty instantly. That said, I am sure both these pages have reinvented themselves under new names and are still scamming people. Money flipping scams are all over IG.... Don't fall for it! There's no such thing as free money.
But it happens quicker and simpler, too. Dane lost pretty serious money:
Dane's money flip:
I was down in the dumps after a major car accident left me without transportation. I logged on to Instagram and came across this guy with testimony after testimony of successful transactions. The guy said for $200 I'd receive $5,000 and his fee was only $350 of that $5k.
I needed the money for a new car, so after thinking long and hard, I decided to go through with it. Long story short I'm out $200 dollars.
And here's Nkoye's money flip experience:
Nkoye's money flip:
I remember I was at school one day and I got hit up in my Instagram dms about a money flip. The person promised that if you cash app the person at least $50, then they can multiply that by 10 and send the money back to you.
Me being a dumb bloke I decided to do it and instead of the required $50, I gave her $100 because she said I can get $100. So I stupidly sent somebody I have never met $100 and expected $1,000 back. After I sent her the $100, she blocked me on cashapp and Instagram. I attempted to make another account to track her down but she blocked that one. That was so devastating to me because I am a student and I need every dime I can get and to be cheated like that honestly hurts me till this day.
Where all the trouble starts:
By you, taking the money bait! After all you are in need of some quick cash, right?
You "friend" or "follow" the scammer on the social network. He/she gives you their email or phone number, and you connect.
You talk and it is pretty simple:
Just send me the money on Venmo or Square Cash. It's just $50. Easy. And your return will be so much more! You will be out your $50...
Or this slightly more complicated situation happens:
They ask you to go get a prepaid money card and credit some money to it, say $200.
You then provide the card details to your contact, who says he/she will use this info to work around the money system and double your cash. They ask for the card number, pin number, time of receipt of transaction, etc.
The next thing you know, you're unfriended or blocked on the social network and never hear from the scammer again. You lose all the cash on the prepaid money card.
To make it worse (read: more costly), if you give these flippers your sign-in details for your payment app or (online) banking details, they'll clean out your accounts altogether.
Avoid Getting Scammed
So what can you do to avoid getting scammed like this?
Just like the scam itself, the solutions are pretty simple:
- The cliché comes into play: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
- If someone offers you free cash, it's probably a scam.
- Never give out personal or financial information to a request online or on the phone. If it appears to be a company you know, sign off or hang up and contact them using a verified number.
- Be very stingy with your prepaid card details, let alone any credit card details.
- Research the person or company online. You will find, it's probably a scam.
- Don't ever give out PIN numbers. Ever.
That's it for now, I hope this helps from getting money flipped!
Cheers, Will
