> who has trouble with Paypal? I can't tell you the amount of times I've had trouble with that shitty excuse of a company.
Not a Pal. Occasionally, will not Pay.
Actually, I do have pals like that.
The Mysterious Case Of The Craigslist Writing Gig Scam
21–27 of 27 posts
Re: The Mysterious Case Of The Craigslist Writing Gig Scam
#22Well you still have the phone numbers of the businesses you called. Call them again and ask them who's handling their lead generation.
Re: The Mysterious Case Of The Craigslist Writing Gig Scam
#23> who has trouble with Paypal? I can't tell you the amount of times I've had trouble with that shitty excuse of a company.
My favourite is emailing them. Good luck getting a response.
I tried for weeks to get them to sort out a problem that was simple enough that I figured email was the way to get it sorted out in some low priority queue. Finally I called them up and the problem was sorted out in minutes. Why are the people on the phone infinitely more helpful and English-savvy? I don't know but it's a problem.
Re: The Mysterious Case Of The Craigslist Writing Gig Scam
#24I'm throwing my vote in with the guy who suggested maybe he's getting money from the companies for getting more people to call about their services. Both ends are getting scammed, but it costs one of them time, and one of them money.
In the comments section on the blog, someone mentioned that the scammer might be running a call-center for the companies, where they get paid by the minute for their services. I think that would better explain the 6 minute requirement than the 'lead generation' argument.
Call center profit would probably be too low to make this worthwhile.
$15/hr * 0.1 hours = $1.50. Seems like the complex Craigslisting wouldn't make sense with this little profit at stake per call they manage to finagle.
Re: The Mysterious Case Of The Craigslist Writing Gig Scam
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the comments section on the blog, someone mentioned that the scammer might be running a call-center for the companies, where they get paid by the minute for their services. I think that would better explain the 6 minute requirement than the 'lead generation' argument.
Call center profit would probably be too low to make this worthwhile. $15/hr * 0.1 hours = $1.50. Seems like the complex Craigslisting wouldn't make sense with this little profit at stake per call they manage to finagle.
I agree that it seems like a lot of work for little reward. However I think you ignored the fact that the OP made multiple calls that lasted over 6 minutes (in the comments section he also mentioned that the phone numbers he was calling were fairly similar to each other). So $15/hr0.1 hours6 calls = $15.
The fact that all of the coordination is done through e-mail means that the scammer could have multiple people per day doing this. Which would add up to a small chunk of change, enough to keep his operation going, especially if business is slow.
It is almost like an old-school version of click fraud.
Re: The Mysterious Case Of The Craigslist Writing Gig Scam
#26My vote is for "advance fee scam" as mentioned in the comments of the article. It plays out something like this: He shows up at a coffee shop after a few days worth of work with a check for $1000. The actual "work" done was worth $700, so he says "just give me $300 and we'll call it even". He'll be nice and wait for OP while he goes to the ATM, but the check will be a dud. If I'm right about this, I think there's a p…
If you read carefully, I think that email was sent after they were supposed to meet at the coffee shop.
After the five reviews, Aaron asked for my phone number
and said he’d call me the next day with a meeting place.
It has now been three days and I have yet to hear from
him. He’s also stopped responding to my emails, including
one in which I asked him, “Is this really a scam?” Which
means, obviously, I’ve been duped.
I still think that a waiting time and a 'missed' appointment could've been a part of the scam. After all, when you've been on hold with customer service for 10 minutes, do you really want to hang up at that point?
Re: The Mysterious Case Of The Craigslist Writing Gig Scam
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you read carefully, I think that email was sent after they were supposed to meet at the coffee shop.
After the five reviews, Aaron asked for my phone number and said he’d call me the next day with a meeting place. It has now been three days and I have yet to hear from him. He’s also stopped responding to my emails, including one in which I asked him, “Is this really a scam?” Which means, obviously, I’ve been duped. I think you're right, the email looks like it was sent after the intended meeting time. I still think…
10 minutes? What planet do you live in and how much is the rent for a one bedroom? :) If I wait 10 minutes I consider myself lucky, usually more like 30.