Airbnb’s latest scam – how it influences you right now
We have all bought or sold something with the internet as platform. So far, it has been fairly easy and without too many hiccups, but recently a new type of scam has been rearing its ugly head.
With the Nigerian Prince with the same surname as you scam a thing of the past, new types of criminals and scams are constantly evolving. How careful do we have to be when buying or selling on Craigslist and other similar websites?
Considering the fact that there is a serial killer with the name, the Craigslist Killer, we should be aware and vigilant constantly. Of course, you cannot blame a website for it’s users’ indiscretions, but how much of the responsibility lies with the website and how much blame can be assigned to the unsuspected victim?
Unfortunately, most of us do not think like criminals. We thus quickly fall for scams, and they are constructed so that you can quickly lose a lot of money. Vodafone has affiliates all over the world and two months ago, a certain band of criminals in Tonga discovered that Vodafone employees in South Africa all have numbers starting with the same 6 digits. And they do business with overseas customers. They therefor quickly call back of you ‘miss call’ them. The scam comes in with the call back – you then get charged a crazy amount per second and it will only appear on your phone bill the following month. Vodafone didn’t lose any money; the employees had to pay back ridiculous amounts in a short period of time and many professionals were caught by this scam. If it is your job, how can you NOT call a potential overseas customer back?
What concerned me most about the AIRBNB scandal is the lack of responsibility. Does the owner consider himself exempt because he sees himself as a small time Donald Trump? IS it okay for the rich to break the law if no one is hurt? Excuse me, but he didn’t just conveniently forget the camera in the master bedroom. He denied and denied and even after evidence was presented, quickly went from denial to ‘Oh, I forgot’. No. Unacceptable. He did something illegal and should at least apologize, but the norm for the rich and famous is always deny, deny, deny.
Did it work for Bill Clinton? Did it work for prince Andrew when he was involved in a teenage sex scandal? To a certain extent, yes. Here is where things might be different than in the past, with global newspapers and international platforms like Facebook, the judgement from the general population is just too extreme and I believe that these sexual internet deviants will be brought to justice.
The flip side of the coin is the following: with the birth of the internet and its marriage to anonymity, we have created a platform where sexual deviants can satisfy kinky and illegal needs without leaving their homes. We have always been a kind of disgusting people, with rape being committed 9 times out of ten by someone you know. Now, the internet has brought us rape and child molestation at our fingertips. You would have thought that these criminals don’t bother to leave the house with porn on tap as long as you have wifi, but no. It has created a new type of monster and they communicate and share tips. They even share evidence.
SO how do we stop this monster the internet has created? By being vigilant, and by asking questions. If you ever feel unsafe, you probably are. Anyways, why take the risk? I am sure if you ask a family member of one of the victims of the AIRBNB scandal, they would have rather had a paranoid and distrusting family member than one who has been caught on tape by a sleaze. The old saying, rather safe than sorry, comes to mind.
However, does Natt think it is okay to host sex parties and record it? Did every one involved give their permission? Did they do drugs? Was anybody coersed? It doesn’t take an idiot to realize that there is so much more to this story than just filming unsuspected holiday goers. Proving that the sex parties definitely also had illegal elements may be difficult, but AIRBNB has taken a knock like never before and as well they should.
You see, the guy in charge, the main man on top, employs people like him. And then those people employ people like them. Therefor you cannot trust the whole company after a debacle like this. Remember that just like in prison, nowadays criminals can learn from each other and redefine techniques etc just by being on the internet.
Have you ever researched a murder to write your novel? Or asked weird questions for research? I have and I know how many sick ideas one can find in even the most innocent places. Pinterest is a fairly safe website and I have discovered unique ways of hiding a body on there. (The secret is to place a dead animal on top to confuse cadaver dogs and remember to dig vertically, not horizontally as the shape of the ground has to comply with the dead animal’s size) SO this begs the question, did the internet create a new kind of opportunistic criminal?
The answer is yes, but also the internet created a safe space and communities for self help and healing. Also ease of use. We just need to be more and more vigilant when it comes to internet transactions.
One of the worst scams to see the light of day is the rental scam on Craigslist. Criminals will literally break into an empty house or steal the keys to show you around. One of the worst ways to lose a large sum of money.
Can we expect craiglists to do something about this? Or should we be more careful? Or do we contact the police? What if I don’t live in the same country where the criminal is? What if our countries laws differ, as with certain laws in the UK compared to other countries? The answer here lies in the fact that certain policing and law jobs have not yet been created, but the demand is already there. Nowadays a law student should consider specialising in the internet and international agreements etc as this is where the future client is going to be. Illegal sexual activities in the UK is totally normal and consensual in other countries. You are now not even allowed to watch BDSM or forced porn, even if you had no part in creating it, and even if it is consensual. How do we reconcile what our tax payers can and cannot see when the internet doesn’t even hide it?
Craigslist and its affiliates have created certain fall nets to protect the average unsuspecting consumer and we can all read up a bit more on how to be vigilant. Ask more questions and beware of the following:
The buyer or seller doesn’t live near you
Doesn’t want to meet in person
Anonymous payment options
I realise that this means that more and more innocent people are going to be suspected, but hey. It just takes one criminal to ruin the whole world for the rest of us. If people like princes and presidents cannot keep it in their pants, how do we expect the rest of us who are not so much in the public eye to refrain from taking the candy in the candy store? The internet offers us money and sex on a silver platter and we do not even have to leave our homes. It seems that the people who do leave their homes, are the voyeurs and predators. This brings me to my next point:
Nigerian scams are still a thing. You wouldn’t think it. But it is. And they are growing and becoming all the more clever. The golden rule is that if something sounds fishy, it is. Why would a local customer have a .co.uk account for example? If you feel unsure, you should be. Rather not risk it!
Another type of scam is ticket fraud. The saddest part is that of certain events companies find out that tickets have been resold for example, they can ban you from ever using that service again and this influences so many people on so many levels. Maybe it is better to buy from accredited dealers and websites instead of individuals.
Not only can a con artist steal a house key and sell you a property that doesn’t belong to them, think about the Eiffel Tower being ‘sold’, but also, they can lure you into a secluded place merely to physically rob you. This is where the internet criminals get your money in a violent and physical way. Never meet someone alone, as even men have been targets in the past.
Another trick is a secretary or other ‘employee’ overpaying you. You are then requested to refund the extra amount into a different account or even cash so that the boss never finds out. The link is that they are most likely using a stolen credit card and the extra cash is not theirs to begin with. Trust me, you will be held responsible and accountable for the missing money. I am speaking from experience, however this is not a scam that I have encountered personally. The next one however is.
Calling a company and pretending to be from a larger and global head office. Again the mobile network industry not only has to deal with simswop fraud, but nowadays a new kind of criminal is rearing its head. A low level employee will get a call from BILL or something from IT. You then need to read prepaid or top up vouchers to him over the phone to ensure that the system is working. He then takes the numbers and uses it for different types of scams. Hey, maybe he just wanted to call his girlfriend. Luckily when this happened to me, I suggested that BILL from IT speak with the manager. Bill threw down the phone in my ear and I have never been as scared at work as that day.
My manager later informed me that a similar thing happened to a previous consultant and that he had to pay in the difference, which ended up with him quitting. Now, why the heck did nobody warn me that something like this could happen? I made an extra effort from that day on to train new employees against fraud. The thing to watch out for, is people who get upset over little things. Trust me. When a customer is threatening you with head office or your manager, and especially when they say, but you helped with this last time! Your radar should go off as quick as a church bell after a wedding. In everything you do, rather be safe and cover your own behind than let a customer who is a potential criminal bully you into doing something illegal. It may not only cost your job, but it can land you in prison as well. In certain cases, the consultant however innocent, also broke the law and there for can be charged as an accessory. I have witnessed situations like this and it is a very real scam to be aware of since the implications can really be life altering for the unsuspecting victim. OF in doubt, call a supervisor or manager. This will scare off the criminal but this will also calm down the real upset customer. And voila! Job well done.
Here is to hoping that the Snowdens and Assanges of the world will always be whistle blowers. And that they will stand up in the face of deportation and even criminal cases made against them. We should all show this kind of courage. And may the perpetrators be apprehended swiftly and smoothly.
