Two women recently went viral on TikTok after sharing how they fell for a Reddit and iMessage scam perpetrated by someone who claimed to want to sell them tickets to a Gracie Abrams concert.
TikTok user Angela Culp (@badbabesboudoir) and her friend, Megan, recorded the video seemingly following the exchange between them and a scammer who, between them and their two “roommates,” conned the women out of $530.
“We just got scammed,” Culp said. “We’re going to show you how they did it so it doesn’t happen to you.” As of Thursday evening, her clip had amassed more than 95,000 views.
A Reddit, iMessage ticket scam
Culp is a music fan (and self-proclaimed “Swiftie”) who said she believes she’s normally adept at catching would-be scammers. That changed, however, after she and a friend tried buying tickets to an Abrams concert in New York through Reddit.
According to Culp, she expressed her interest in buying the tickets after a Reddit user messaged her and offered to sell her two tickets to the concert for $265 each.
The content creator said she trusted the redditor because they initially agreed to do the exchange through PayPal goods and services, which entitles buyers to reimbursement if they don’t receive the item they paid for and/or if the item isn’t what they ordered.
In order to sort out “practical details,” however, the alleged scammer, going by the name Jesse, asked to switch to texting through iMessage.
“I thought, ‘Wow, iMessage. They must be legit,’” Culp said.
The scammer used these tactics to gain trust
Jesse continued gaining the women’s trust. She not only shared her full name, but frequently used emojis in her communications. Additionally, Culp said that Jesse sent photos of the alleged tickets in her Apple Wallet and sent a screenshot of an email confirmation from when she first bought the tickets.
“They were very personable,” Culp said. “I feel like all the other scammers [use] broken texts and misspellings… For a ticket scammer, that doesn’t seem like something they would do.”
Eventually, Jesse and Culp—with Megan’s help—agreed to exchange payment via PayPal. But this came with its own host of problems. Culp said that Jesse repeatedly claimed that they were unable to request the money. And when Culp offered to send the $530 to them, Jesse refunded it because she claimed she couldn’t wait until the end of PayPal’s 28-day hold and needed the cash immediately.
“This is where they gained our trust and our emotions got the best of us,” Megan said.
The women struggle to send the funds
Jesse then asked the women to send the PayPal to her boyfriend which, in hindsight, Megan deemed the first red flag.
“I sent $530. It goes through, but [Jesse] says it’s going to take 24 hours and so that’s not going to work,” Culp said. She added that since Jesse refunded this money right away, she and Megan “[trusted] this girl with our lives.”
Unable to send the money to Jesse, the women looked for alternatives. First, they tried Venmo, which apparently didn’t work. Then Jesse suggested they send the money to one of her roommates through Facebook Messenger.
“It feels like a team effort,” Culp said. “It feels like Jesse really wants us to get to this concert, but also wants the money.”
How they sent the money and where
As the clock ticked closer to showtime, the women eventually worked out what they thought was a viable solution: Megan sent $100 to one of Jesse’s roommates (named Tyler) through Venmo and Culp sent another $230 through Facebook Messenger to another roommate (named Chris). Still, they were $200 short.
“I get the other $200 to go through Facebook Messenger to Chris,” Culp said. But she said that Jesse kept claiming the last chunk of money didn’t go through.
Desperate to go to the concert since it was 30 minutes from showtime, Culp said she Apple Cash’d Jesse the remaining $200. That’s when the pair realized something was off. Culp said that Chris blocked her on Facebook. Jesse, too, blocked her from iMessage.
“That’s when we realized we got scammed,” Culp said. “I feel like scammers are now getting smarter, so be careful out there.”
How to avoid the Reddit iMessage ticket scam
Culp made a point to note that she and Megan are usually pretty good when it comes to catching scammers. There are several red flags they watch out for: Sellers who refuse to do payment through PayPal goods and services and people who “don’t talk like a regular person.”
Jesse, however, was a unique case. In fact, Culp referred to the woman as their “friend.”
In general, though, experts recommend a handful of tips when it comes to avoiding scammers. For one, when possible, concertgoers should buy tickets through official sources, including Ticketmaster or AXS. A write-up from CoreFirst Bank & Trust also endorsed avoiding peer-to-peer payment services (including Zelle and Venmo). It also said to avoid sellers you meet on social media.
“Only buy resale tickets from people you know—like friends, family, or coworkers,” it said. “Be wary of strangers on social media platforms!”
Viewers empathize with the women
But when you’re in a crunch, as Culp and Megan were, and feel like you can trust a seller, it might be easy to ignore red flags. As a result, several commenters said that they could empathize with the women falling for Jesse’s trap.
“I feel like this is one of the only scam videos I’ve seen that makes sense that you fell for it,” one viewer wrote.
“Damn they are getting too good,” another one said.
“I’m not going to lie: I would’ve fallen for this,” a third viewer admitted. “They were too good.”
Other commenters pointed out red flags that they said buyers should be wary of when purchasing tickets from someone they met online.
“Big red flag is saying your bank doesn’t take Zelle—all major U.S. banks do,” one person noted.
“All the ‘friends’ she had would’ve made it too sus for me,” another admitted.
“Always ask for screen [recordings] of the tickets as well,” a third woman shared. “Just plain screenshots don’t do anything anymore.”
@badbabesboudoir DONT GET SCAMMED ON TICKETS LIKE US!!! We felt we needed to tell this whole story because scammers are getting CREATIVE! Were there red flags? Sure 🤣 But were victims and we have learned so you dont have to!! 😭 #gracieabrams #gracieabrams #scammed#greenscreen #ticketscam #gracieabramsnyc #thesecretofus ♬ original sound – Angela Culp
The Daily Dot reached out to Culp and Megan via TikTok comment.
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