What I learned about fintech fraud when "Harry Selby" tried to steal my money
How fintech features become bugs in the hands of fraudsters
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Full post:
As a kid, I almost fell for the classic internet scam to help a down-on-their-luck prince get back their money.
20 years later & fintech has changed the game for fraudsters. There's levels now & I nearly fell for it again.
(1) The Mark:
I was trying to sell a souped up gaming PC I ended up never using (RIP my eSports career) on FB Marketplace for $1.6K.
After FB's "Delete & Relist" (why not just "Renew"??), "Harry" seemingly came to my rescue with a classic "Is this still available?"
(2) The Approach:
Harry seemed reasonable and at first it was a normal FB interaction.
He did mention that he wouldn't be able to pick it up directly so he was sending someone else, but that happens often enough on Marketplace I didn't think it was a big deal.
(3) The Build-up:
With the opening, Harry asked for payment details and we went through Zelle as he suggested. He said he'd pay me once his nephew came to pick up the computer.
Then something weird happened. He "paid" me immediately??
(4) The Initiation:
At this point, I'm more confused than anything but not suspicious. He's not picking up directly so he couldn't time money transfer anyway.
I was honestly more concerned for his naive trust (what if *I* was a fraudster?).
And then there's an issue.
(5) The Crisis:
Harry seems to think there's trouble with the payment transfer.
I didn't see any notifications in-app so I let him know and he starts to get more concerned.
That's when things start going sideways.
(6) The Offer:
Turns out, per Harry, the amount is so high it's getting rejected. He has to send an extra $400 to get to $2K so I can upgrade to a Zelle Business account.
I just need to return the $400 after. It's crazy, but also could be a part of a fintech risk policy.
(7) The Give:
Harry then sends me the extra $400 and starts pestering me for confirmation.
I'm also getting email from "Zelle Support" saying that a transfer is in process and then on hold. The email does have Chase and Zelle logos to seem credible.
There's levels here.
(8) The Breakdown:
Harry's obviously very concerned about how much he's advanced and is pushing really hard at this point.
That's Harry's fatal flaw. He's way too pushy and that makes me start to question things.
(9) The Discovery:
Now I take a step back to think:
Harry didn't negotiate at all
He paid in advance
There's no Zelle notifications in-app
His language is awkwardly formal
On second look, Zelle email is fake, emails have bad grammar & are weird (Progress bar GIFs??)
(10) The Shutdown:
Armed with this new info, I confronted Harry & shut down the con.
I know it was fake, but a part of me wonders at Harry's last words. And what if I had tried to con the conner?
What have we learned?
Fintech has revolutionized how we interact with money.
It expands money movement use cases, increases velocity and supports trustless interactions.
Those same features become bugs in the hands of a fraudster and it's easier to commit fraud at scale.
Fun fact: The real Harry Selby was a professional hunter who died in 2018.
