Beware of telegram scammers, yet another scam attempt

[DYING_S0UL]

The title says it all. Today I was approached by an unknown person on telegram who claims to be a reseller of telegram usernames. He offered me a total sum of 8K USDT for my username. Being aware of this method of scamming I decided to troll this guy a bit, pretending to know nothing. Note that my username isn't of anything significant, I just used some words and set it.

Upon doing a reverse search on the scammers account, I was able to acquire these information. The fact that he is using a TG premium and an old account makes him more realistic. These guys are trying hard to make themselves look genuine.

Scammers Account:

  - Full Name: Zane Walker
  - User ID: 6735436235
  - Username: @ZaneWalkerBuy
  - Premium User: Yes
  - Data Center: 1 (Miami, USA))
  - Account Created On: October 01, 2023
  - Account Age: 1 years, 7 months

This is why everyone should be caution when dealing with something related to telegram, especially the newbies. You never know what might be lurking in the shadow. To be honest, I would have fallen for this trick, if I hadn't known this method. But thanks to this amazing forum and a group of good people, who are constantly giving us reminders and making us aware of these scam methods.



Update: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5541877.msg65386543#msg65386543

[Porfirii]

Dear DS, I think you've missed the business opportunity of a lifetime. 8K for just a username!

I don't know Gemspace although I think it's not the first time I hear that name. Anyway, I would have done the same as you: distrust if something sounds too good to be true, and especially in Telegram.

I'm also receiving scam attempt messages in the App more frequently lately. But I distrust everyone by system, especially if he pretends to be a beautiful Asiatic woman or to have a rich uncle who invested in no matter what successful project.

Thanks for sharing.

[Mrbluntzy]

If anyone encounters this kind of scam and pays a close attention without being so nosy about money they would make, then they can quickly observe if it's a scam or not.

This kind of scams always looks obvious from the beginning, just look at how the guy is explaining rubbish.

There's no proper detailed explanation for what his business of buying telegram usernames entails.

He wants to buy your user name and resell it, to who? Just rubbish that doesn't make any sense. (Scam too easy to identify)

There's no introduction of who he, company he is working with. This is just a normal approach when some people chart you up randomly and if you are smart enough, you would be mindful of such unexpected messages.

Being extremely careful will help in this kinds of situation,  don't be so nosy about the profit you will get, think about the risk.

[qwertyup23]

Thank you very much for sharing this, OP!

I do recommend to everyone to post all of the scams that you have encountered in this forum. Not only do you warn others of your experience but it also serves as a reminder that there are various ways of scams across all social media platforms. As a general rule, do NOT entertain any messages from stranger or unknown persons who suddenly added you. 9 out of 10 times, they are scammers that will take advantage of anything that can be stolen!

OP, I find it very hard to believe that someone would offer that amount of money for such a inconceivable request- which is your username. To all newbies who will be reading this post, remind yourself that if an offer is to good to be true, then 99% of the time it is a scam!

[Floxynice]

I am still curious to know: why do people buy usernames? I have read about something similar to this before, but I couldn't wrap my head around why anyone would have to pay such a huge amount of money for a username. Could it be to buy the identity of the original owner of the name and use it to scam people or for any other reason best known to them?

I am already having the feeling that these scammers use this username stunt to lure their victims because it seems like one of the easiest things to sell in exchange for a lot of money.

Some scams are actually avoidable. Without being told, one can easily tell the offer isn't genuine. Thanks OP for bringing this here. It will motivate us all to be mindful of who we interact with both here in the forum and outside the forum.

[DYING_S0UL]

Dear DS, I think you've missed the business opportunity of a lifetime. 8K for just a username!
I don't know Gemspace although I think it's not the first time I hear that name. Anyway, I would have done the same as you: distrust if something sounds too good to be true, and especially in Telegram.
I'm also receiving scam attempt messages in the App more frequently lately. But I distrust everyone by system, especially if he pretends to be a beautiful Asiatic woman or to have a rich uncle who invested in no matter what successful project.

You are being sarcastic right? LOL
Nobody pays that much for a mere username! The moment he said about buying my username made if obvious that he was a scammer!
I assume profile picture taken from pinterest.

...snip...

Isn't that common sense?

I do recommend to everyone to post all of the scams that you have encountered in this forum. Not only do you warn others of your experience but it also serves as a reminder that there are various ways of scams across all social media platforms. As a general rule, do NOT entertain any messages from stranger or unknown persons who suddenly added you. 9 out of 10 times, they are scammers that will take advantage of anything that can be stolen!

Being well aware of such scam methods certainly helps. Anyone who never heard of this trick might actually fall victim to this scam Luckily, I was knew, thanks to the forum.

[Mia Chloe]

The title says it all. Today I was approached by an unknown person on telegram who claims to be a reseller of telegram usernames. He offered me a total sum of 8K USDT for my username. Being aware of this method of scamming I decided to troll this guy a bit, pretending to know nothing. Note that my username isn't of anything significant, I just used some words and set it.

Another scammer obviously revealed. The whole thing will only freak someone or allow someone that is greedy to fall for simply because I see no tangible reason for someone to opt in to buy an account a regular telegram account for $8k. I think one of the easiest ways to discover scammers are deals that look too good to be true.
People sell of their KYC data at least not without their consent and those who steal those data to resell may not even sell it for up to $8k except in rare cases.

[DYING_S0UL]

I am still curious to know: why do people buy usernames? I have read about something similar to this before, but I couldn't wrap my head around why anyone would have to pay such a huge amount of money for a username. Could it be to buy the identity of the original owner of the name and use it to scam people or for any other reason best known to them?

Afaik, they would trick you into transferring ownership of your username and later use it to scam others connected to you, since no monetary transaction is involved here.

The whole thing will only freak someone or allow someone that is greedy to fall for simply because I see no tangible reason for someone to opt in to buy an account a regular telegram account for $8k. I think one of the easiest ways to discover scammers are deals that look too good to be true.
People sell of their KYC data at least not without their consent and those who steal those data to resell may not even sell it for up to $8k except in rare cases.

Actually, the buying and selling of usernames isn't uncommon. They are being sold at a high price in fragments. You'll be surprised to see the amount they have set as the minimum bid. Literally thousands of dollars... https://fragment.com/

[Marykeller]

$8k for just a telegram username. Isn't that a suspicious move already? Someone telling you that alone, I will raise an eyebrow that there's something fishy about it, that the person in question asking for that shouldn't be trusted, they should be avoided because they will surely have a hidden agenda to exploit from the person.

If there is ever gonna be free money in crypto, it is not to the extent of a person giving out a huge sum of money for just a telegram username without the person doing some other things add together.

[Die_empty]

Being well aware of such scam methods certainly helps. Anyone who never heard of this trick might actually fall victim to this scam Luckily, I was knew, thanks to the forum.

It's not a waste of time to share your experience with these scammers. Every day, these criminals are coming up with new patterns of scamming people. But if you are not greedy and pay attention to detail, it will be difficult to fall for these scams. They will always offer an amount that will be attractive to those who are greedy. But I would have to accept that being a member of this forum had been enlightening. It will be unusual for a member who has been exposed to these scamming strategies to fall victim.

[Orpichukwu]

This username purchase scam is beginning to get common and popular now these days; I can count about 3 good threads about this scammer just this year in this forum. What their intentions are is what I don't understand. In the last few threads, the scammer was trying to use a fragment, but this time around this scammer comes with a different approach, which looks like a setup.

I don't know Gemspace although I think it's not the first time I hear that name. Anyway, I would have done the same as you: distrust if something sounds too good to be true, and especially in Telegram.

Gemspace is an escrow website, which looks like a scam to me, and those who suggest using it are likely the ones in control of the website. It always requires both parties to connect their wallets to the website and grant the site permission. It all looks fishy. I have been offered a deal using different methods of scams before, but when the scammer suggested that escrow, it made me distrust him immediately.

[tabas]

I doubt that it's his real name and picture. These scammers are hiding in every detail that they can. Well, if he's going to buy my TG username, I'll sell him that for 8k USDT. 

Afaik, they would trick you into transferring ownership of your username and later use it to scam others connected to you, since no monetary transaction is involved here.

But if they have bought and paid you, that won't be a scam anymore and you could careless what they'll do next. However, the problem starts if they've used your name already so, that's one thing to worry about. They have studied this technique and probably took them a few weeks to strategize. Be careful everyone and thanks OP!

[Questat]

Thank you very much for sharing this, OP!

I do recommend to everyone to post all of the scams that you have encountered in this forum. Not only do you warn others of your experience but it also serves as a reminder that there are various ways of scams across all social media platforms. As a general rule, do NOT entertain any messages from stranger or unknown persons who suddenly added you. 9 out of 10 times, they are scammers that will take advantage of anything that can be stolen!

OP, I find it very hard to believe that someone would offer that amount of money for such a inconceivable request- which is your username. To all newbies who will be reading this post, remind yourself that if an offer is to good to be true, then 99% of the time it is a scam!

Good idea. As scamming have become rampant nowadays, it’s best if we can expose them one by one through posting their kind of strategy and techniques on how they will deceive innocent people. It will reduce them in time knowing they can’t easily lure the people now.

It would be a big help also if we will help ourselves as well by getting updated on how the current scamming goes this time. It will make us more vigilant and cautious everytime we will encounter people like these.

[Maslate]

$8k for just a telegram username. Isn't that a suspicious move already? Someone telling you that alone, I will raise an eyebrow that there's something fishy about it, that the person in question asking for that shouldn't be trusted, they should be avoided because they will surely have a hidden agenda to exploit from the person.

If there is ever gonna be free money in crypto, it is not to the extent of a person giving out a huge sum of money for just a telegram username without the person doing some other things add together.

This is clearly too good to be true, anyone who get deceived by this just show how stupid and greedy he is. Although I can’t blame the victims if ever, but consistent education about these continuous scamming tricks is the key. Otherwise, you will keep blinded by these kind of scams and will continue to fall victim on them if you won’t be alarm and make an effort to DYOR first before you decide to trust and accept their offer.

[Floxynice]

I am still curious to know: why do people buy usernames? I have read about something similar to this before, but I couldn't wrap my head around why anyone would have to pay such a huge amount of money for a username. Could it be to buy the identity of the original owner of the name and use it to scam people or for any other reason best known to them?

Afaik, they would trick you into transferring ownership of your username and later use it to scam others connected to you, since no monetary transaction is involved here.

Oh, I see. My take on this is that whether the offer from the scammer is genuine or not, people should generally desist from selling their usernames on Telegram. It might actually be a smooth transaction between the buyer and the seller, but others who know nothing about this exchange might become victims by trusting a total stranger, thinking it's someone they used to know. When these strangers come to our DMs with this kind of offer, the response should be "no, I don't want to sell my identity" and not just "oh! This dude wants to scam me." Even if the offer is genuine, don't sell. This way, we would save lots of people from becoming victims. Unfortunately, some persons would be too greedy to even think about the negative consequences of such transactions.

[Cantsay]

I am still curious to know: why do people buy usernames? I have read about something similar to this before, but I couldn't wrap my head around why anyone would have to pay such a huge amount of money for a username. Could it be to buy the identity of the original owner of the name and use it to scam people or for any other reason best known to them?

One of the reasons why usernames are being sold is because some companies usually need it for their  - let’s say I create a telegram account and used @chickenchops as my username and then a company comes up some time later with the same name and they have a very huge presence online - they may decide to use that same username for their business but since it’s already in use they might reach out to the person who owns the account for them to buy it; but not for that price the scammer in the OP mentioned.

[coyhasmon]

Someone approached me with this exact same thing a couple of months ago, the only difference was the amount offered and that the platform's name was not explicitly mentioned right away. Did someone open the link, how do they intend to scam you using that website?

$8k for just a telegram username. Isn't that a suspicious move already? Someone telling you that alone, I will raise an eyebrow that there's something fishy about it, that the person in question asking for that shouldn't be trusted, they should be avoided because they will surely have a hidden agenda to exploit from the person.

That's exactly the thing, most people do not have this danger sense. It is easily overwritten by their sense of greed and naivety. The thought of getting an easy $8k makes a lot of people stop having common sense.

[suzanne5223]

This is why everyone should be caution when dealing with something related to telegram, especially the newbies. You never know what might be lurking in the shadow.

Yes, Telegram is known as the empire of online scammers, and if we still have someone who trusts a stranger's claim on this forum, then the person is not worth being in the online space.
Scamming activities like this don't happen only on Telegram, so people need to be more careful on every social media platform, not just Telegram, because online thieves use different strategies on different social media platforms.

Assume we consider buying/selling Telegram usernames, there's an official website where this can be done, so it should be understandable that any individual trying to offer a service outside of the official marketplace created by the Telegram team is up to no good.

[sokani]

Oh, I see. My take on this is that whether the offer from the scammer is genuine or not, people should generally desist from selling their usernames on Telegram. It might actually be a smooth transaction between the buyer and the seller, but others who know nothing about this exchange might become victims by trusting a total stranger, thinking it's someone they used to know. When these strangers come to our DMs with this kind of offer, the response should be "no, I don't want to sell my identity" and not just "oh! This dude wants to scam me." Even if the offer is genuine, don't sell. This way, we would save lots of people from becoming victims. Unfortunately, some persons would be too greedy to even think about the negative consequences of such transactions.

There's nothing wrong in selling telegram username if it can fetch you some money. The thing is, if you have a unique username and you wish to sell, do not listen to PMs from a random stranger on telegram. Go to fragment and put it up for sale. Anyone that contacts you directly on telegram is a scammer and wants to trick you into clicking or visiting a phishing website where your wallet will be drained.

[sheenshane]

Oh, I see. My take on this is that whether the offer from the scammer is genuine or not, people should generally desist from selling their usernames on Telegram. It might actually be a smooth transaction between the buyer and the seller, but others who know nothing about this exchange might become victims by trusting a total stranger, thinking it's someone they used to know. When these strangers come to our DMs with this kind of offer, the response should be "no, I don't want to sell my identity" and not just "oh! This dude wants to scam me." Even if the offer is genuine, don't sell. This way, we would save lots of people from becoming victims. Unfortunately, some persons would be too greedy to even think about the negative consequences of such transactions.

There's nothing wrong in selling telegram username if it can fetch you some money. The thing is, if you have a unique username and you wish to sell, do not listen to PMs from a random stranger on telegram. Go to fragment and put it up for sale. Anyone that contacts you directly on telegram is a scammer and wants to trick you into clicking or visiting a phishing website where your wallet will be drained.

How confident are you that the scammer will pay you?

Or perhaps this offer could lead you into a scam by sending the scammer a phishing link.
We must exercise caution when dealing with people on Telegram, it's a haven for scammers that should be avoided.

Regardless, @OP, thank you for sharing this so that forum users are aware of such tricks.  There may be a greedy forum member who will fall victim to this bait.