Scammed 550 usd about 700 aud + 400 aud unknown :(

[bounty-hunter]

Hey guys, it's been a long time since I've been on ragezone and its mainly to the fact that real life takes so much of your time away. For those of you who don't know me, My name is Wasif or otherwise known as bounty-hunter. I joined ragezone about 8 years ago and was fascinated with gunz so I started developing for it. I wasn't that great but I did work under some great people. Time passed and I realised Coding was not for me, so I moved on to become a 3d/vfx artist and a video editor. Now I have a lovely job working from home editing weddings and making enough to feed the family. In my spare time I do free professional photography for those who cannot afford it, but would love that form of quality.

Just yesterday, my computer was compromised and someone managed to remote access my pc while I was asleep from a late editing session. My girlfriend called me as soon as she started receiving paypal notifications for hundreds of hundreds of dollars in transactions. To my surprise I see someone has accessed my pc and made unauthorized transactions. Like anyone else, I cancelled all my cards and accounts. But with paypal I have to wait 10 days for the dispute. My credit card company says it cannot get the money back but can cancel my card from further transactions. I have had $550 usd (about $700 aud) taking from my paypal and then another $400 from western union to an unknown account ( it could be my fathers card, but hes not here at the moment ). I'm short on money and I have a feeling that I may not win this dispute.

My files were also compromised and some of my wedding projects are corrupted. Some files have been deleted all together. This is setting me back from work, and now I fear that I won't be able to pay some of the bills and pay rent and buy food for the next comming weeks. I would've been happier if my files were intact, because then I would be able to make the money back, but now I'm set about 3 months behind which is about $2500-$3000. I don't make much as it is but its enough to get by.

I need your help guys , I setup a gofundme account to help put my account back to a clean slate, I'm planning on backup up all my main files then formatting my pc and installing fresh windows. It's ok if you guys cannot support me, but just listening is good enough for me. I'm absolutely devasted by this

Heres the video link on my facebook timeline showing what these guys did as they had access to my pc remotely.

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Other video of my paypal account showing transactions (keep in mind I do not play runescape)

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And if you guys want to support me heres the gofundme

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[religion]

I normally don't donate to things like this, but I think that is completely fucked up. I'll spot you some on Friday when I get paid.

 

[Monolith]

How do we know you aren't the hackers? They cleaned you out and now are trying to use RZ to get more money....

 

[bounty-hunter]

Well I don't see why they would post on ragezone about it, but it's ok I'm just sharing my story. I read the post before it was edited, I do have 8 years exp, but the thing is I have never been involved in a hack or fraud before and now I'm worried that I won't win because everything was done in my pc remotely. I just want my money back so I can go through this week and the coming weeks and get my projects back in order. If I can get my work back in order I'll be fine. But everything has been effected and that's the problem.

p.s
At this stage I still don't know where the $400 was taken out of, making me really worried. Parents made sure their cards are safe. I'm not sure if it was my credit card but I called them up and they said the 400 wasn't charged on it. But sometimes there is a delay in taking money out.

 

[bounty-hunter]

Update 1 :
looks like I'm safe from the $400 transaction seems like that one didn't go through. I've restarted on work and I'm able to hand in 1 out of the 5 projects so I should be fine for this week. Hopefully I can get my projects back to pace and then I'll feel much more at ease.

 

[DNC]

Sorry to see this happened to you, just glad you are getting things sorted out.

 

[Luriflax]

That sucks mate, hopefully it'll turn out good eventually

 

[Supicioso]

Sounds like someone was watching shady porn and clicking on things they shouldn't.
I don't use anti-virus programs, but this story makes me think I should. But I won't. I've been safe for years without one.
No reason to start now. Plus I'm too broke for anyone to rob. lol. Literally wouldn't be worth their time.

 

[Monolith]

I read the post before it was edited,

Yea I typed that all out in a pissy mood...then reread it and even I thought it was too douchbaggy...so I deleted it to socially acceptable

 

[Ron]

Yea I typed that all out in a pissy mood...then reread it and even I thought it was too douchbaggy...so I deleted it to socially acceptable

Good thing I don't care about being socially acceptable.

Sorry dude, I don't really buy this. Someone remotely accessed your PC, took all this money, then the first thing you do is post a video on Facebook and immediately create a gofundme account asking for handouts. If you're a legitimate victim then I'm sorry, but there are other ways to get this money back than to go write up a sob story on a website you haven't posted on for nearly 5 months trying to get people to help you.

Regarding your files; these are so easily recoverable its not even funny. You can even recover these yourself most of the time with Recuva. If you really lost all of these pictures and all of this work that is apparently so important, you'd be working to restore the files and asking for other ways to get the deleted files restored, not asking for money to compensate you for "lost work". You said you got a $400 transaction back? Good! Use that money and take your hard drive to a certified data recovery expert. I personally would charge you only $100-200 for the time to go in and fully recover the deleted files. I do this all the time for friends and family.

Your course of action does not add up for someone who would be in this kind of situation. You're asking for handouts of up to $700 rather than asking for ways to recover $2500-3000 worth of work, most of which are completely free. I hate to be the idiot (not really actually) but its hard to feel sorry for someone who would rather ask other people to him them rather than putting in effort to help themselves.

 

[bounty-hunter]

Good thing I don't care about being socially acceptable.

Sorry dude, I don't really buy this. Someone remotely accessed your PC, took all this money, then the first thing you do is post a video on Facebook and immediately create a gofundme account asking for handouts. If you're a legitimate victim then I'm sorry, but there are other ways to get this money back than to go write up a sob story on a website you haven't posted on for nearly 5 months trying to get people to help you.

Regarding your files; these are so easily recoverable its not even funny. You can even recover these yourself most of the time with Recuva. If you really lost all of these pictures and all of this work that is apparently so important, you'd be working to restore the files and asking for other ways to get the deleted files restored, not asking for money to compensate you for "lost work". You said you got a $400 transaction back? Good! Use that money and take your hard drive to a certified data recovery expert. I personally would charge you only $100-200 for the time to go in and fully recover the deleted files. I do this all the time for friends and family.

Your course of action does not add up for someone who would be in this kind of situation. You're asking for handouts of up to $700 rather than asking for ways to recover $2500-3000 worth of work, most of which are completely free. I hate to be the idiot (not really actually) but its hard to feel sorry for someone who would rather ask other people to him them rather than putting in effort to help themselves.

You make a good point, it's really hard to know what's true and what's not on the internet.
I have made attempts to recover my files, I have the originals backed up on an external hard drive, the problem is my projects files are corrupted meaning I cannot recover them or recover them to a point before the finished product. Right now i'm unable to recover my premiere pro project files, so that means I have to start the projects all over again (setting me back 2 + months of work). "The $400 was not deducted" Thats great, but i'm using that towards rent for this week. I probably haven't mentioned this but I pretty much take care of the family including parents and siblings, so if I have no money, then they have no money. (long story, but in short, dad is a heart patient, mum works in child care not many shifts and siblings still in school). I'm not asking for a hand out I'm asking to be able to go through this week and the next while at the same time get my projects back in order, that is why the $700 was mentioned and not $2500.

Right now my priority is getting through the next 2 weeks, I have sold my asus windows tablet (never used it that much) and this week seems to be fine along with the $400 that im saved.

Again you make a vaild point, everyone should be careful when It comes to the internet. Best case scenario would be to have my money refunded so i can focus on my projects.



Update 2 :
I have been refunded $84 usd (15 + 69) out of the total 550usd, looks like I might be able to get my money back.

 

[Ron]

You make a good point, it's really hard to know what's true and what's not on the internet.
I have made attempts to recover my files, I have the originals backed up on an external hard drive, the problem is my projects files are corrupted meaning I cannot recover them or recover them to a point before the finished product. Right now i'm unable to recover my premiere pro project files, so that means I have to start the projects all over again (setting me back 2 + months of work). "The $400 was not deducted" Thats great, but i'm using that towards rent for this week. I probably haven't mentioned this but I pretty much take care of the family including parents and siblings, so if I have no money, then they have no money. (long story, but in short, dad is a heart patient, mum works in child care not many shifts and siblings still in school). I'm not asking for a hand out I'm asking to be able to go through this week and the next while at the same time get my projects back in order, that is why the $700 was mentioned and not $2500.

Right now my priority is getting through the next 2 weeks, I have sold my asus windows tablet (never used it that much) and this week seems to be fine along with the $400 that im saved.

Again you make a vaild point, everyone should be careful when It comes to the internet. Best case scenario would be to have my money refunded so i can focus on my projects.



Update 2 :
I have been refunded $84 usd (15 + 69) out of the total 550usd, looks like I might be able to get my money back.

You're backing up the current situation with even more sob stories now.

"I got hacked and lost work. I have to spend time redoing work now. My current situation is rough, I have to take care of my family. Here is all the evidence showing how I got hacked with more information why you should feel bad for me. Oh, and here is a gofundme page to donate".

Just overall this doesn't fly well. You're using irrelevant sob stories to back up why your current situation is so crappy. It sucks this happened (if it actually did) but the way you're going about borderline begging makes it hard to feel sorry for you, or even pitch in money to help you out. If you came here asking for advice rather than with sob stories and asking for handouts, you would've had a lot better luck. Just saying.

Not sure how your laws are down in kangaroo land, but here in the US all it takes is paying an attorney $50-100 to write letters to handle all of this for you. I'd have my money back within 5 business days if this happened to me here, and all I'd need to do is call an attorney to send off letters on my behalf. Banks and other companies are much more responsive to legal letters rather than another one of their customers. You may want to consult with a local attorney regarding this if Paypal and your bank are giving you a hard time.

 

[Supicioso]

You're backing up the current situation with even more sob stories now.

"I got hacked and lost work. I have to spend time redoing work now. My current situation is rough, I have to take care of my family. Here is all the evidence showing how I got hacked with more information why you should feel bad for me. Oh, and here is a gofundme page to donate".

Just overall this doesn't fly well. You're using irrelevant sob stories to back up why your current situation is so crappy. It sucks this happened (if it actually did) but the way you're going about borderline begging makes it hard to feel sorry for you, or even pitch in money to help you out. If you came here asking for advice rather than with sob stories and asking for handouts, you would've had a lot better luck. Just saying.

Not sure how your laws are down in kangaroo land, but here in the US all it takes is paying an attorney $50-100 to write letters to handle all of this for you. I'd have my money back within 5 business days if this happened to me here, and all I'd need to do is call an attorney to send off letters on my behalf. Banks and other companies are much more responsive to legal letters rather than another one of their customers. You may want to consult with a local attorney regarding this if Paypal and your bank are giving you a hard time.

If his sob stories hold any truth. I doubt he has the extra funds to hire out an attorney. Considering how everything is more inflated there compared to here.


But yup. If you were trying to pitch a sob story, this is the wrong place to do it. People like the almighty Ron will call you out on it, and probably rightfully so. And I'll just sit here and read the comments while silently laughing at your apparent misfortunes.

 

[bounty-hunter]

Ron, legal costs here in Australia are very expensive compared to the U.S, is there anything else I can do? What kind of evidence can I show to paypal if they contact me? How do I prove someone remote accessed me? I just noticed that I'm loosing even more money because of paypals conversion rates, the money that was refunded $84 US was in a lower conversion when it was converted into AUD, so in the end If I do get my money back, I will loose about maybe $50.

I realise there is pretty much nothing I can do in regards to the project files, but in the scenario that paypal does not refund the full money, there is nothing I can do, the only proof I have is the videos on my facebook page and screenshots I took.

If there is anything I can do to improve my current situation please let me know.

 

[Ron]

Your only hope is to follow-up on the disputes you file through paypal for unauthorized access. These cases are extremely hard to prove however when the unauthorized access was done through a previously authorized computer.

Get Paypal on the phone and ask who to send the browser history, videos, and other information to. Screenshots showing the malware on your system would have also helped your case. The more information you provide, the better. You have more leverage if the transactions withdrew money from your bank account to cover the amounts. Get your bank on the phone again and demand to talk to someone who will help you. Get whatever you have set up with paypal changed. Debit card numbers, credit card numbers, bank account number if possible. Anything paypal has on file make sure its changed. Also send evidence of everything being changed to Paypal through the dispute. Contact the companies the transactions went through (Jagex, WesternUnion, etc) and notify them of the activity. Get confirmation back from them regarding cases being opened and provide those case or reference numbers to Paypal.

The more you do, the more they will see as the activity actually being fraudulent. If someone on the phone gives you a hard time, ask to be escalated to a higher level manager or supervisor. Keep getting escalated until you get help. If you give up after them telling you no, they don't take you seriously.

 

[Killerwoody]

Yea seems kinda iffy someone hacked you unless you've giving out certain details to your computer. There's 1000+ people on RZ gaming/Deving and much more. This is the first story I've come across like this, Also why would that dude give a crap about your msn? Or the other site I seen about sending text to people? One thing you could do is stop saving your passwords for automatic log in. Not saying your a liar but something doesn't seem right to me.

The more I slow down the video the more it doesn't make sense to me... Just look at the sites and the time frames!

Also anytime you make purchases thru paypal on a gaming site you have to log into paypal on the first purchase, so either you gave someone remote access or you scammed yourself trying to get cash from people. There has to be a way to trace those claims on Runescape the dude made fresh accounts. I would contact them too asking about those transactions. The person prob logged into those accounts once he got what he wanted. I think more can be done instead of asking for cash so quickly!

 

[Monolith]

You guys pretty much summed up what I typed and then deleted...it felt fishy as hell to me and I expressed that feeling quite viciously...mostly because the idea of someone scamming my RZ family really kind of pissed me off....only reason I deleted what I typed was to wait and hear from a moderator as to if this kind of post is even allowed...last I remember putting up a post asking for money for PERSONAL gain, not charity or for another person in dire straits, was not allowed here...but a Mod responded to my report with "Why not?"...so I guess my memory is mistaken.

I personally find it morally wrong to do something of this fashion....I would have to be starving and on the street and dying before I would go to extent of reaching out for monetary help from RZ....and if I did go that far it would only to be to a certain few on here that I knew were geographically near me and could actually help....and even then I would accept all personal blame that is my to accept.....not blame others and make excuses for where I am in life.

Regardless I would not recommend any one "donate" to this issue....it is too fishy for my comfort and I do not believe you are being 100% sincere about how it took place...

Don't get me wrong....if this was for a loved one with an ailment or a best friend that was dying or , as I posted not too long ago, a family who lost their only means of survival and did not even have the funds for the funeral....I would praise your campaign from the highest mountains....because you messed up and lost your money is not a praiseworthy reason....that's more of a reprimand worthy reason.