Catfished For Bitcoin Scam
Try not to laugh too hard. A few days ago, I shared a video by the comedian, JP Sears. If you don't know JP, he's the red-headed comedian that often is seen in various yoga positions and can be found on one of his hysterically satire-laden videos that spread across the internet just as quickly as he can crank them out. JP often pokes fun at things like trending buzzwords and social topics such as: Gluten-free diets and social justice warriors. He also mocks people, events, and well... everything. I'm a fan. I often watch his page for new videos and share as I'm inclined to. Occasionally, I'll leave a comment. What I DIDN'T expect was a Facebook message from JP himself. Now, I have many comedian friends and it isn't unheard of for another to reach out and say hi- but I was in slight disbelief to see JP in my inbox. Nonetheless, I responded to the simple- "Hey lady." Our conversation was relatively short. I was working on an article while simultaneously preparing dinner for my family. I was bouncing back and forth and wasn't paying that much attention to things like JP's formulation of sentences, nor did I immediately notice any odd word selections. He was asking me about my blog at first, and I answered quickly- trying to get these class action updates out to hit my deadline. I still thought it was interesting to say the least, but no personal information was being requested, and to be honest- I had strange exchange with a celebrity once- nothing pings my radar anymore after that. This celebrity was also a comedian... one I had to block from Facebook , change my name, and remove all mutual friends. Apparently, when a man is attempting to hit on you very clumsily and in effort to get to know you better, he asks you really random questions. In this case, this comedian asked- "What would be your last meal on Earth be?" Besides feeling like he was asking because he planned to serve it to me before putting my corpse in a 50 gallon drum, I was clearly getting the "I dig you vibe". Reader warning: The correct response to a question like this is NOT the answer that I gave. I said- "Brianna Banks". That's right, in effort to quickly sway this man from thinking I would consider a date with him, in my younger mind, I thought it would be a good idea to state the name of a screamingly gorgeous blonde mega-porn star. The logic in my mind was- A. He'd know the name. B. He'd think I was a lesbian and move along. He knew the name. He did NOT move on. For about a month, I got messages and emails with links and still shots of Brianna Banks porn, and extremely colorful verbiage about what he would give to enjoy my "last meal" with me. Yeah, never do that, ladies. Anyhoo, after that little incident, I never flinch at friends of friends messaging, and I must have missed the language issues at first. Within a few minutes though, JP Sears was telling me all of his financial secrets- namely bitcoin. Say what? So I sat down and started paying attention. It was in fact JP Sears' profile (or so it said) a comedian I have never met- has reached out to me to share a super-secret way for me to get rich in three weeks. He didn't come right out and say that at first. Just that he wanted to help me. Ohhh thank you Bitcoin Guru. At this point, I'm letting this guy talk, and reaching out to JP through his website. This guy starts telling me that I need to download an app and put money into it. He's going to tell me where I should send it... with this warning: "It looks like you're sending it to someone, but you're not. It's in the app." Yep. Ignore your eyes. Trust total stranger. Got it. So I started to challenge him while I waited for a response from JP. He became upset when I asked him why he spoke English so oddly- and would he mind appearing in a Facebook chat video. He of course refused, and told me that he can speak English however he chooses as he's a celebrity and it's his prerogative... or something to that tune. I'll add some screenshots here for your laugh value. JP Sears' actual email responded to me, assured me that was not JP chatting with me online, and within seconds- the JP doppelganger's account was disabled. Why am I sharing this? Well, it would be me that a celebrity impersonating scammer would try to talk to, wouldn't it be? First, it's pretty funny. Second, who the hell thinks of this? I wouldn't have ever expected these scam artists to be manning their Facebook chat and sitting in front of JP's fan page, waiting for comments. But it's apparently a thing, so heads up. So, that being said- if you're going to buy bitcoin- make sure you know where you're buying it and where your money is being sent. The irony of this whole thing? JP Sears makes fun of bitcoin. :P
