{"id":15197,"date":"2019-12-03T20:30:59","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T16:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/incoming-transfer-scam\/15197\/"},"modified":"2019-12-03T20:30:59","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T16:30:59","slug":"incoming-transfer-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/incoming-transfer-scam\/15197\/","title":{"rendered":"A stranger wants to give me money. What could possibly go wrong?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are various signs by which to spot an online scam. The strongest one is a request (or even demand) to transfer money to someone under a murky pretext. But what if instead of giving your money away, you get a hefty amount transferred to you? Sounds pretty great. What\u2019s the catch?<\/p>\n

The catch is, you\u2019re not getting the money. Here we discuss two types of scam based on incoming money transfers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey there, I need you to make me a logo\u201d<\/h2>\n

Ever since starting out as a freelance designer, Andy had a personal website. It didn\u2019t see much activity, but he was reluctant to close it; a personal domain name has its advantages.<\/p>\n

The site hadn\u2019t brought in any new clients for a while, but one day Andy received a message:<\/p>\n

\u201cHey there, this is Dave. I\u2019d like to know if you do logo design?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

They exchanged a few e-mails, nothing really detailed. Apparently, Dave had a new business. The website was under construction, and the materials for the logo and brochure were stuck with a \u201cconsultant.\u201d Call him Mr. K.<\/p>\n

But Dave was so eager to get started, he accepted Andy\u2019s first idea and gave the go-ahead without any questions at all. The only small obstacle was Dave needed to get the materials for the task from that consultant \u2014 and Dave owed Mr. K. some money. It wasn\u2019t a huge amount, just over a thousand dollars, and Dave was happy to pay it, but some \u201ctechnical reasons\u201d were holding up the transfer.<\/p>\n

However, Dave said, he could send it to Andy. It would be a great help to get the project moving again. Would that be OK? He would transfer the fee for the job and for the debt to Mr. K., plus a little extra for Andy\u2019s trouble. Andy would then transfer the sum owed to Mr. K. \u2014 and all would live happily ever after.<\/p>\n

Who could refuse such an offer?<\/p>\n

Incoming transfer scam: How it works<\/h3>\n

As appealing as the deal might look, it\u2019s suspicious. This type of scam has been doing the rounds for at least a couple of years<\/a>. If Andy had agreed to the proposal, here\u2019s how events would have unfolded:<\/p>\n