#scam asks

Recently, I've noticed an upsurge in fraudulent scammers/bots pretending to be Palestinian and asking for donations. What's really interesting is that these scammers/bots generally target blogs that are active, post frequently and get a lot of engagement. So, if you've been inactive or on hiatus for a while, you may feel that the Palestinian bot problem has subsided and the worthless @tumblr @staff has done something about it. But in reality, it seems these scammers/bots actively seek out blogs that are regularly posting and interacting with other blogs. I'm speaking from personal experience. Until last December, I wasn't too active here on Tumblr; I just lurked and scrolled. Back then, I didn't receive any asks, comments or DMs from scammers/bots. I genuinely thought the bots had been exterminated. But ever since I started posting again, (around the beginning of this month) I've been receiving 5+ DMs and asks almost every day from scammers/bots. Some of them are anonymous. Most of them are pretending to be the same person with different blogs and usernames, copying and pasting almost identical ChatGPT-sounding messages pleading for donations. They're also tagging me in the replies of random posts I've never interacted with. I'd like to request y'all NOT TO FALL FOR THESE BOTS/SCAMMERS. They may seem like actual, real people but THEY ARE NOT. Multiple bloggers have already debunked and exposed these scammers/bots. So PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHILE INTERACTING WITH THESE FRAUDULENT BLOGS AND THINK TWICE BEFORE DONATING. ALWAYS VERIFY THE BACKGROUND AND CREDENTIALS OF THE BLOGS ASKING FOR DONATIONS.

Didn't see anything about scams using the LA fires so thought I'd point it out.

I am (under good faith) calling helpvictimsfiresinusa2 / helpvictimsfiresinusa a scam.

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Reason(s) why I came to this conclusion:

1 - The images of tents used in the chuffed campaign are not from the effects of the wildfire. They're from old news articles.

The first image was taken from this article published Jan. 26, 2016.

The second taken from this article made on May 25, 2021.

The third taken from this article made on June 26, 2019.

2 - This is not a verified/vetted or known organization hosting this campaign, it's just a person. Meaning that this person, 'mohamed hazem‬' could just be raising money and then they will be using it for whatever they want once they've raised enough money.

Join us today in supporting the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.

Who is "us?"

Again, they don't say what organization is is hosting this.

It's just a person making a campaign and saying it's for something.

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Do NOT donate to this fundraiser or any one like it.

ONLY donate to help with the wildfire through organizations like this:

notice the .org? Yeah, THAT is a real organization.

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Here's a post on some tips and tricks on spotting scam blogs.

Helpful guides on how to spot scams. (by @kyra45)

BOT

Let's see here...

Blog is empty except for pinned post

Claiming to be vetted and verified yet has no links to the accounts who supposedly vetted them

"Type 1 diabetic asking for money to cover [specific brand of insulin]" is a ridiculously common scam tactic on here

Usually ignore these, but saw a bit of traction on their blog. So, PSA - stating the obvious: generosity to complete strangers like this is rare, unfortunately.

In this person’s case, it’s a scam. Ignore the photos of girls showing “proof” they got this bloggers money. Scammers have gotten trickier these days. Those are either Edited/AI OR someone helping them scam.