Scammer get scammed

[Dillonhebist]

Was at the office when a message pop on my Facebook messenger saying he is dewi from Indonesia that he is  interested in buying BTC worth $2000 I ask him why not buy through the wallet he is using, he said the wallet is not yet verified, I asked him again which wallet he is using he replied Binance, I smiled, I also asked him why did he think buying online is better he said because no kyc or verification need online and I ask him are you ready to risk it he boldly tell me yes. To cut the story short he was persuading me to send the BTC first before he make payment which I refuse, he even told me to send half of the BTC which he will make full payment  after I confirm payment i send the remaining BTC I also refuse, then he said he's going to send me $300 worth of  Etherume to show me how serious he is, I sent him my Etherume wallet and he made a deposit of $300 worth of Etherume. at the moment it was time for my presentation at the office so I went offline after the presentation I came online, I was seeing all sorts of pidgin local Nigeria insultive words.
that caught my attention how can an Indonesia citizen speak and write a pigeon local Nigeria insultive words then I decided not to refund him his Etherume for him to feel how others feel when they are being scammed.

Note__ scammers can go extra mile even by sending you money first in order to achieve what they need.

I have one question am I a scammer too or did I do  wrong by not sending him his Etherume back because after this incident my conscience has been beating me.
 stay safe.

[pawanjain]

It all boils down to how sure you are that he is a scammer. If you are 100% sure that he's a scammer then there's no need of feeling guilty.
But if an Indonesian is speaking Nigerian that doesn't mean he's a scammer. People can speak different languages. I can speak 3 different languages as well.
Also, if you are using the money you received from that person for your own benefit then it's probably a bad thing.
You should consider one of the below options

1. Send the amount back to the person by researching more about him or ask him for his ID verification or video verification if he wants the money back
2. Donate the amount to charity

[DdmrDdmr]

<…>

What can I say, if it’s not mine to begin with, then it’s not mine to keep. The person you interacted may well be a scammer, although the depiction of events just points to the possibility, but not to the certainty.

I recall a case where someone from my local board outsmarted a likely scammer (loan related), and initially was set to keep the small amount of funds to teach him a lesson. Both accounts were red tagged on the forum, and eventually, the outsmarter sent the funds back and was left with just a neutral tag related to the matter.

The above here is not to illustrate the Trust implications, but rather more that, despite it being a likely scam, people were rather more lenient towards returning the funds regardless. I adhere.

[Oluwa-btc]

This might be true, this might be framed up for what ? Post or merit's, but then my hunches telling me they are not true.
Like a Pawanjain said, people can now speak multi-languages.
It's best you Donate the funds you have to a charity else you're nothing but the scammer here, your topic also says you're a scammer " Scammer gets Scammed"
I'd love to see a screenshot though, but it's all fine and dandy if you don't!

Advice
Scammer's try to gain your trust, the above shows he was sent Ethereum to he's Ethereum wallet,so  ensure you don't fall for this, they gain your trust by showing how real they're, also by sending funds first.
Share whatever you're bothered about with a friend or report to the nearest Police Station.
I'm Nigerian and i'm vexed whenever I hear talks about scamming. Y'all take caution and be careful.

[Takyeon]

Scammers intentionally act stupid at times just to wake up the greed in you, as the game goes on you will start feeling like you are the smart one here but they are only pulling your leg to force you to take a step, now that you sensed that he is a scammer you need some prove just to be sure that you are dealing with a scammer, ask him for ID, national ID or Drivers license then the truth will be revealed.

[lovesmayfamilis]

If I understand correctly, you have not fulfilled your obligations.
What difference does it make in what language he cursed you, and from what country did he introduce himself to you? It's the internet, and it can tell you it's from Mars. Another point is that you left without warning him and without fulfilling your part of the contract.
What to call you, if not a scammer? How are you different from him? Return his money, and sleep well, otherwise, this is the most common scam.

Your behavior is a good indicator for the forum that you cannot be trusted!

[Sauv84]

It really could be a scammer.What if he really just wanted to buy bitcoins?
It turns out that you tricked him.

What if this person is really being verified?
I would advise you to contact him and,if possible,give him his money back.
If you are sure he is not a scammer,of course.

[passwordnow]

Who was this Dewi guy that just messaged you out of nowhere and have been straight forward to you to buy or trade bitcoins? If he's a total stranger and even we're having the same interest about cryptocurrencies, I have already ignored him.
I guess you have already the idea on what he's about to do or you're too suspicious with it. If the trade didn't go well, it's much better to send back the funds to him if you have no intention to deal with him. And about the nationality, anyone can be good at many languages at the same time, I've seen a lot of them.

[alik111]

I think you should return the funds after the full verification and if it doesn't work. You should donate the funds to any helpful charity. I will prefer to send back to him.

[Pokapoka124]

"Scammer gets scammed" title tells me you already gloating at your achievement. I took a look at your post history, you talk a lot about scams. I think this story is a made up story like the others because it doesn't make sense. Your Facebook profile has to indicate something relating to crypto (like a crypto trader) for someone to message you out of the blue making such request but your story of "outsmarting" a "scammer" is true then you betrayed this stranger's trust. There was no escrow used, it was just your word given and yet you left in the middle of a transaction (after payment has been made) for a meeting. I think all is in order if he decides to call you a scammer. I suggest you send him his 300$ worth of eth.

[CryptocurencyKing]

Scamming a scammer doesn't make you a more better person than he or she ever was. After all, thieves steal from thieves and in the end, they are all thieves. If you take a good look at your topic, you would not that, you saying, you scammed a scammer implies that, you are the scammer in this incident. Why? Because your the perpetrator of the act of scamming.

Not honouring a deal.
Even a scammer has the right to some legitimate business. You might have walked out on a deal in progress for some good reason and you don't have to blame the other party for being throwing you with insults because, he or she is sure to have been waiting on your part to honour your deal.

It feels so bad that scams do exist and by all means they should be punished for there acts but, your not entirely sure this individual meant to scam you. The least you could do is, to send him BTC worth the amount of Ethereum that was deposited on your address. You build the trust and keep it up that way.

Yeah, a scammer tries to build trust and with you being aware, you never get to stay the part of deposit before sending your precious Sats. That way, you never get to risk more than  you can afford.

[Doan9269]

To cut the story short he was persuading me to send the BTC first before he make payment which I refuse, he even told me to send half of the BTC which he will make full payment  after I confirm payment i send the remaining BTC I also refuse,

this could have been your ever worst mistake should in case you give in by sending first.

Note__ scammers can go extra mile even by sending you money first in order to achieve what they need.

That is their new strategy used in scamming people nowadays, some will send you huge amount of voucher just to convinced you because i have also witness such, they first take the risk to send you little to get the big catch but lucky enough, this time the scammer fall a victim.

I have one question am I a scammer too or did I do  wrong by not sending him his Etherume back because after this incident my conscience has been beating me.
 stay safe.

Remember you asked him before the whole transaction begins the is he ready to risk it and he replied yes, he dug the pit for you but ended up falling into it, but if your conscience isn't at peace as you said, then return back the coins and thought him a lesson never to try such again.

[khaled0111]

Is it ok to steal from a thief?!.. I believe we all agree that it's not.
The same applies here, this is not your money and the right thing to do is to send it back.
Moreover, you have no proof that this person is actually a scammer or was planning to scam you aside from your assumptions.
The only case, in my opinion, where it would be ok to keep that money is if that person scammed you before and you outsmarted him to get your money back.

[Welsh]

I like to operate on the basis that someone is innocent before proven guilty, so I wouldn't ever be in this situation. Judging by the way you're writing there's no real hard evidence he was a scammer. Remember, a likely scammer isn't the same as a scammer, you need to have proof of it. Even then, I don't particularly agree with taking a eye for an eye.

The thing is there's a very real risk of you scamming someone who gave all the red flags under the sun, but were actually innocent.

Your behavior is a good indicator for the forum that you cannot be trusted!

OP still has the opportunity to return the Bitcoin, and put it down to bad judgement. Whether they do that or not is something that'll prove whether they can't be trusted. The impulse wasn't exactly great, I agree.

[Mpamaegbu]

The OP has every right to preempt the actions of the person he was in interaction with. As humans, we all should've that feeler which alerts us that something could be wrong. It's called instinct. However, we should also take into cognizance that instinct shouldn't be taken as an absolute without basics which should encompass giving someone the benefit of the doubt. There's a reason the expression, "Don't judge a book by its cover" exists.

So, the person you suspected wanted to scam you eventually sent you $300 worth of ETH and you withheld it without sending any Bitcoin? You should've sent them Bitcoin that was equivalent of what they sent you. And if he was more interested both of you would've continued on that arrangement until the needed $2000 they wanted was met. Not sending them anything back isn't what you should be proud of.

From your story OP, you seem the scammer here. Don't count yourself smart.

[odolvlobo]

You don't know that he is a scammer, but either way -- He sent you $300, so you should send him $300 in Bitcoin (minus whatever fee you agreed on) to show that you are trustworthy.

[KingsDen]

Op, you are the scammer here and you risk a chance of being tagged if you do not return the said $300 with an evidence.

1. Even if it's a made up story, I'm sorry you could be tagged.
2. Even if it's a real story, scammers don't go around messaging everyone on Facebook that they want to buy bitcoin anonymously. It could be that you have in your Facebook profile that you buy and sell bitcoin at affordable price.
3. Again, you didn't use escrow and went offline immediately you received payment.

Also, in your post you indirectly tarnished the image of Nigerians.

[pawanjain]

Scamming a scammer doesn't make you a more better person than he or she ever was. After all, thieves steal from thieves and in the end, they are all thieves. If you take a good look at your topic, you would not that, you saying, you scammed a scammer implies that, you are the scammer in this incident. Why? Because your the perpetrator of the act of scamming.

Not honouring a deal.
Even a scammer has the right to some legitimate business. You might have walked out on a deal in progress for some good reason and you don't have to blame the other party for being throwing you with insults because, he or she is sure to have been waiting on your part to honour your deal.

It feels so bad that scams do exist and by all means they should be punished for there acts but, your not entirely sure this individual meant to scam you. The least you could do is, to send him BTC worth the amount of Ethereum that was deposited on your address. You build the trust and keep it up that way.

Yeah, a scammer tries to build trust and with you being aware, you never get to stay the part of deposit before sending your precious Sats. That way, you never get to risk more than  you can afford.

Now that is a very good point. So in a way, OP is agreeing that he is the scammer himself.
@Dillonhebist still has the time to show that he's not a scammer by returning the money to that person.
But otherwise, it would create a very bad image for him on this forum and may be he might get tagged as well.
I hope OP returns the money at the earliest and shares the proof here for the tx id as well screenshot of the chat.

[Dillonhebist]

After posting this thread (scammer get scammed) yesterday, I chatted him up telling him to send me proof of identity threatening him that is only way he can get his fund back but he couldn't prove it he didn't send me any, I even tried calling him video calls but he couldn't pick up, but do you guys know the funniest part of it he even called me with a Nigeria phone number but I returned his Etherume yesterday because I believe that anyone who keeps what belongs to a thief is also a thief and I don't want to be path of that word.
Thank you guys for your contribution and advice.

[DdmrDdmr]

<…>

Do you mean proof of ownership or proof of identity (which is what you stated)? The latter would mean doxing himself, which I figure was the product bypass intent, though it is extremely unlikely that the counterpart would do, as was the case. Anyhow, you returned the funds, which is the ethical thing to do.

<...>

Whatever ...