Hustle and Stole
The internet has brought us closer together than ever before while simultaneously breaking our humanity apart. It’s a gateway into infinite resources about any given subject while also being subjugated to manipulation by people in their quest for money.
Take Ebay or Craigslist as examples of websites where people can easily be lured into a scam with the use of fake pictures, contact information, and even automatic bot responses.
Brittany Everette wanted to purchase a PS5.
However, since its release, it’s been extremely difficult to get your hands on one. Luckily, a guy reached out to her via Twitter and said he was trying to sell the PS5 his fiancé gifted him because it was the wrong version.
How I Scammed A Scammer Part 1:
Ok so boom.
This guy (we’ll call him Henry) reached out to me saying he was selling his ps5 digital edition that his fiancé gifted him because it was the wrong version. He was selling it at the regular price too.— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
“This guy … reached out to me saying he was selling his PS5 digital edition that his fiancé gifted him because it was the wrong version. He was selling it at the regular price too,” Everette said.
Everette was unsure if she should proceed, but did so anyway.
She agreed to 50% down and the rest once she had the console.
That’s when things turned for the worst and pretty soon Everette began realizing that she was dealing with a scammer.
I was skeptical at first but he seemed genuine. We agreed to 50% down then 50% on arrival.
It’s Saturday now. After sending me pictures of the ps5, I go ahead & send him $225 through Apple Pay for him to drop it off on Monday at a Staples to ship it.— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
The initial transaction seemed pretty smooth according to Everette.
She even got the pictures to prove it was real right? Well, keep following.
Monday comes and I text him asking if there’s any issue with shipping. He says no but asks if it’s possible that he get the other half of the money. He says his daughter is sick and he ran into unexpected medical bills. I’m chronically ill and disabled, so I get it.
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
Now we’re starting to smell something cooking and it’s not food
With the recent addition of his daughter having medical complications, the seller has hit a soft spot in Everette, who is medically inhibited as well and asks for the remainder of the money to help with his ailment.
Everette obliged but only if he would send a picture of him holding the printed-out drop-off confirmation or a shipping receipt, since tracking numbers take 24-48 hours to actually track.
He sends a picture of the Staples drop-off package receipt, with the store number, number of packages, & date. I send $225. He says he’ll send me the tracking number when it’s sent to him and to text him on Tuesday if I don’t hear from him. Cool. I’m super excited.
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
She texts him on Tuesday for a follow-up, and the plot began to thicken.
I text him Tuesday morning for an update……chile…… pic.twitter.com/uXfgTJxY9P
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
Just when you thought you scored a sweet PS5. Instead, you get swindled by an online thief feigning sincerity in his business ethics.
Anyone would feel distraught and silly for being played like a fiddle.
But not Everette. She had other plans in mind and would not go down without a fight.
I reported his scam to FTC, IC3, and the FDIC. I try reaching out ONE LAST TIME, warning him that if I don’t see the funds in my account by 9:30pm, I promise he’ll never know peace again.
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
And a fight it was. She relentlessly tries to communicate with him Tuesday afternoon and pursues to continuously ask him for her money.
She even reported his scam to the FTC, ICE, and the FDIC.
“I promise he’ll never know peace again.”
I told him I’m filing a case and to eat shit. Homeboy decided to read the messages and block me. It was at that exact moment I knew what needed to be done. pic.twitter.com/gpgDc6yVzp
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
It was time for Brittany to land some jabs of her own.
She noticed he kept changing his Twitter handle to different variations of his actual name. After every change, she would message him telling the scammer, “I found you” and will always find him.
In her fury, Everette remembered an important detail in this mess: the Staple store number contained in the picture the scammer had sent.
I told him I could send the money if he sent a picture of him holding the printed out drop-off confirmation or a shipping receipt, since tracking numbers take 24-48 hours to be able to actually track.
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
With this new piece of information, Everette tracks down the address of the store. She was able to figure out the name of the seller since it matched the address in the same county as Staples.
She noticed his Twitter handle always pulls the same info with the same aliases.
I used all the names he kept changing his Twitter handle to. And would you look at that, they all pull up the same information with the same aliases.
I found an email too. pic.twitter.com/gHCnawViZk— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
Everette’s investigative work helped her acquire his email along with knowledge of his family members, their emails, phone numbers, addresses, the scammer’s mortgage, cars, and more.
With this information, Everette wrote a message to all emails associated pretending she was a legal team filing a civil lawsuit against the scammer as a result of stealing her money.
She figured anyone would recognize it was a fake email.
She wrote the message in ridiculously but, apparently, nobody realized it was fake. Oh the irony of it all!
After some time to let off steam, Everette received a notification on her phone. It turns out, the seller’s fiancé had contacted her to let her know she was shocked and appalled he would do such a thing.
She tells me she’s taking their child and leaving him. She can’t believe he would do this to someone. She had no idea this was the kind of person he was and was so sorry.
I’m messaging her back like pic.twitter.com/5Od2FhB24B— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
Afterward, the scammer finally reappears and this time he shows his true colors. He is apologetic from start to finish and says he will pay her back after she drops the charges.
Not believing a word he says, Everette doubles down on her demand to get her money back and offers no kind resolution until the terms are met.
After a few minutes, the scammer gives in and sent Brittany her $450.
Victory at last! All of Everette’s efforts were worth it in the end. The investigative work and constant barrage of inflammatory remarks really showed the scammer who’s boss.
She clearly warned him that there would be no peace and he now knows to not ever try this stunt again.
Now look. Big guy is blocked, reported to the FDIC, the FTC, with an ic3 complaint.
His lady friend is leaving him, his father is upset, and my money is resting peacefully in my account.
The end. pic.twitter.com/Lmu818vuXY
— b. (@_BeeEv) January 22, 2021
For anyone thinking that Brittany made this story up, you would be terribly mistaken. She even addressed it in one of her tweets. The fact is, she took matters into her own hands and ended up winning the battle in the end.
It’s important to know your rights and what you can and cannot do.
Brittany’s firepower worked in the best way possible and now hopefully online thieves will think twice before messing with this bad-ass chick.
This is hands-down one of the best endings to an internet scam story. The fact that the scammer got what he deserved all at the mercy of the one he robbed makes this especially satisfying.
Revenge is a dish best served cold and this dish got served over ice.
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