Whenever a new gadget is released, people go to great lengths to procure it – with some lining up as early as dawn just outside the store in anticipation! Whether it's the latest smartphone or gaming device, there's always that feeling of excitement whenever you're one of the very first who managed to snag a piece.
One woman named Brittany Everette had the same dilemma when Sony released the long-awaited PlayStation 5. Like everybody else, Brittany wanted to get one immediately, but since it was currently an It item, it seemed almost impossible to have one!
A Rare Opportunity
Out of the blue, a random guy named Henry responded to Brittany’s PS5 woes over Twitter and told her that he had one of the most coveted units on hand. Apparently, it was a present from his fiancée, and Henry didn’t like it since he didn’t like this specific version.
But the real temptation lay on the price he was offering it for – instead of jacking it up like what folks usually do, the man gladly said he would give it up for its regular price. Brittany couldn’t believe her luck!
Something Fishy
At the back of her mind, Brittany thought of all the worst things that could happen; but at the same time, she considered the scenario as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She realized her jitters were a normal reaction most people would have when they’re about to purchase something only from a complete stranger – it was justified by all means.
Henry was friendly and didn’t seem like the scammer type, so they agreed to have a partial payment done as a reservation fee, while the other half would be upon delivery. Convinced, Brittany transferred $225 via Apple Pay, and Henry promised to ship the console by Monday.
A Convincing Sob Story
Monday finally came, and Brittany reached out to Henry first thing in the morning to remind him about their agreement. Maybe he had some shipping issues she didn't know about, yet Henry assured her everything was fine – except that his daughter was sick, so he had to focus on that instead.
What’s incredible about it was how he asked if Brittany could send over the pending balance, seeing he had medical bills to tend to. For anyone else, this would have been a red flag. However, the unsuspecting woman wanted to help, considering she was disabled herself. Little did she know that sympathy would get her in trouble.
Send Some Evidence
Brittany didn’t think twice about sending the balance; however, she politely asked Henry if he could take a snapshot of himself along with her parcel and shipping tracking number or receipt for good measure. And Henry was able to comply with this request, much to her amazement.
Like a true professional, he gathered the item and receipt and took a photo of it before sending them to Brittany. Now that’s out of the way, the excited gamer sent the remaining $225 to Henry. Meanwhile, the man asked her to wait until the following day for the tracking info since it presumably takes a while to generate it. Seems reasonable, eh?
Warning Bells Ringing
Tuesday arrived much quicker thanks to Brittany’s excitement, and just like the day before, she sent a message to Henry asking him about the tracking number as he instructed. But lo and behold, Henry couldn’t be reached – not by phone nor by Twitter. A cold sense of dread washed over Brittany as she realized she was scammed!
Running out of options, Brittany tried to call Henry using a different number and even tried to use her husband’s Twitter account for messaging. Both attempts were nothing but futile – this was a real scam indeed.
Cancel, Cancel, Cancel!
Panicked, Brittany wasted no time and called her bank to inform them about the fraudulent transaction. She hoped maybe they could reverse the amount back into her account and get the money back. Sadly, they couldn’t do anything about it since she transferred the funds willingly. The same thing happened with her Apple Pay account.
She isn’t usually easily fooled, so Brittany felt really mad and stupid as to how she could let Henry successfully tricked her like that. On top of that, she was cash strapped, considering she lost $450 during a time of a global pandemic and jobs were scarce!
Another Chance
Despite her anger, Brittany concluded that perhaps Henry was just tending to his sick child. So, she figured it wouldn’t hurt if she called him again in the afternoon. Maybe he had a valid reason after all, and she was just jumping to conclusions!
The most reasonable way to deal with her emotions was to give Henry a hard deadline. If he failed to respond or contact Brittany by 9:30 p.m. that night, then she would get the authorities. Much to her dismay, Henry continued to ignore her messages and phone calls – there was no turning back now.
Reporting the Crime
The amount Henry got from Brittany wasn’t substantial in comparison to other scams, but it was hard-earned and paid in good faith. As such, Brittany took to the DIC, FTC, and IC3 and reported Henry’s actions and modus. It was probably one of the most difficult decisions she had to make since she wasn’t sure about the truth.
For the last time, she sent Henry a note and warned him that he wouldn't get away with what happened if he would not respond or even give a solid excuse. Finally, 9:30 p.m. came and went without any word from Henry. That was the last straw!
Out to Get You
Henry’s silence was the tip of the iceberg for Brittany, especially since she gave him a lot of time to explain himself or even undo what he did. What’s worse, the scammer continued to read all of Brittany’s pleading messages without a single response.
Good thing she had a master plan on how to get him back. It wasn’t going to be an easy task, but Henry’s never going to know what’s coming for him. He didn’t deserve a second chance, more so when he took things to the next level by blocking Brittany on Twitter and on his mobile phone.
Hiding His Identity
It turns out Henry wasn’t that good at making sure his tracks were clean, and he was about to learn this mistake the hard way. Since he consistently changed his Twitter name, Henry became extra complacent and didn’t realize that Brittany could track him down regardless of these changes.
What’s amusing was how Henry merely jumbled his real name around in various ways, without realizing it would only make things easier. And every time Brittany found him, she’d immediately send him a quick message to let him know that no matter what he did, Brittany will find him even if it’s the last thing she did.
Getting Even
Finding ways to exact revenge on Henry was a tad tricky until Brittany recalled a picture he took and sent her the other day. Maybe that was the key to her problem since it contained the Staples store number where Henry ‘sent’ her package from.
On the flip side, there’s a high chance the number was fake, or the picture wasn’t even his, to begin with. Still, it was worth a shot, especially since Brittany knew how to do a reverse search. She gathered her gadgets and even grabbed a cup of tea – it's time to launch this investigation officially!
Tracing Names
Armed with a writing pad, mobile phone, and laptop, Brittany prepared to research about the scammer's name, Henry Beacon (the name is for story purposes only). She already knew the guy was from Maryland and that his address was similar to the one he indicated in Staples.
And with all the other names Brittany got from his Twitter, she made a quick reverse-search on them as well and pulled up the exact information. The only difference was the names tied to it, but it was apparent they were all a bunch of aliases – she even managed to find an email!
Fulfilling Her Promise
Brittany was thrilled to have Henry’s email as it could only indicate one thing – he would get another note from her saying that he’s got nowhere to hide. After all, she did promise him that avoiding her won’t be necessary since Brittany will never stop until justice is served.
Like a real detective, Brittany's email was short and direct to the point – it only contained these three words: I found you. But they were powerful enough to stir a response from her scammer! Henry quickly went to his Twitter and updated his handle to another name – Roberto Williams. He didn’t realize this was a big mistake!
More Information Coming
With this new name at hand, Brittany was on a roll and reverse-searched everything – and in return, she also found a ton of information she could use against her scammer. And the ones she dug up weren't limited to Henry's alone – it included details about his family members!
From their emails, home addresses, and telephone numbers, it was like an information gold mine. Brittany also got a copy of his mortgage and car registration; quite frankly, it was clear that it was either she’d report this to the police or teach Henry a hard lesson her own way.
Fake It till You Make It
Any other person would probably go the easy route and let the authorities deal with the scammer. But Brittany wanted to do it in a way that Henry would regret fooling her in the first place. And what made sense at that moment was to create a fake account and give him a dose of his own medicine.
Knowing Henry, Brittany was sure to get away with it. He wasn’t the brightest person in the room, so even if she made up a law firm, he wouldn’t notice. And that’s precisely what she did! Using a Gmail account, Brittany began her ruse that would turn Henry’s world upside-down.
The Make-Believe Legal Team
Brittany thought long and hard about what she should name her fake law firm until she settled with ‘PA&P Legal.’ It sounded realistic without giving away any vital information. She then began sending mass emails to all the names that were linked to Henry Beacon.
To make it seem legitimate, Brittany’s opening email statement indicated that the message was for Henry Beacon and added his home address. She then proceeded to provide an extensive account of his violations and acts of online fraud. Sure enough, anyone who’d read this would be alarmed, especially if a civil suit is involved!
It Was Too Obvious
This email was the biggest test of Henry’s intellectual capacity, considering how obviously fake the email was. All Brittany probably did was search for a letter template and edited a few details to make it unique. To a keen and knowledgeable eye, the message and structure were too sloppily written!
Nevertheless, Brittany was confident Henry wouldn’t figure it out; otherwise, he would've known by now. So, she took it upon herself to relax and wait for any responses – there might be more than one coming in since the mailing list was quite extensive. For now, it was best to mind her own business!
The First Call
It didn’t take long for Brittany’s chill time to be interrupted by her husband, who told her to check the mobile phone immediately. Initially, she assumed he just sent her an interesting clip or a random meme since she forgot to tell her about the fake legal team scenario.
But his prodding was for a completely different thing. Apparently, Henry alias ‘Roberto Williams’ sent an SMS to Brittany’s husband since she didn’t bother to check her messages and failed to respond. Something was up, and it must have something to do with the legal email she sent a few moments ago.
A Panicked Fiancée
When Brittany finally got hold of her cell, she saw four long text messages from the scammer’s worried fiancée. Now was the ideal time to divulge every little lie Henry told Brittany.
To the fiancée’s horror, Brittany shared how the man duped her into sending the remaining balance by lying about their daughter’s medical condition. Since she had screenshots of their conversation, Brittany forwarded them to the distraught woman who was now boiling with rage. To her surprise, the woman said she was leaving Henry and taking her child away. Who would’ve thought that the love of her life was a petty criminal?
The Scammer Reacts
While Brittany was busy telling the fiancée to leave her no-good partner forever, she was excited to receive a text from Henry himself. It was all but a timely coincidence! His girlfriend asked him to contact Brittany and work things out to avoid any lawsuit.
The scam artist proceeded to apologize for his wrongdoings and said he was merely desperate for some extra cash. Since payday was far off, he needed funds to purchase the necessary items for their home. However, he did admit his actions were wrong and asked if they could just move on. But Brittany wasn't having any of it – she wanted her $450 back now.
Pleading for Compromise
With his impending ‘lawsuit,’ Henry begged Brittany to drop the charges and settle the matter outside the court. Some might say this was a cruel joke to play on anyone, but no one deserved it more than Henry. The fact that he thought Brittany could be persuaded to forget his sins was just insulting!
Furthermore, this type of scam shouldn't be taken lightly; otherwise, he might end up tricking others for money. With that said, Brittany told him she didn't care how or where he'd get the money, but it had to be done with no questions asked.
A Weird Question
For some reason, Henry’s fiancée asked Brittany whether she had the cash already, much to her surprise. Of course, she didn’t have it! They wouldn’t be having this conversation if she did. Suddenly, Brittany had a sinking feeling that Henry lied to his fiancée just to get on her good side, and if she didn’t say anything, the fiancée might believe him.
True enough, her suspicions were correct. Henry claimed he already paid Brittany the $450, when in fact, no payment or agreement ever occurred. She didn't want this fib to go on further, so she outright revealed the truth with no haste.
Payment Confirmed
Henry must have panicked when Brittany told his fiancée the real score as her request for payment through Apple Pay was immediately granted in less than five minutes. Justice was finally served – Brittany was over the moon that she got her funds back!
Once the money app confirmed that transaction, she didn't care what happened after with Henry and his fiancée. They could deal with their own issues as long as her mission was complete. It’s not every day a woman gets to fool a scammer without any hitches single-handedly!
An Impressive Feat
Given the elaborate plan Brittany carefully laid out for Henry’s downfall, one could almost say that she has probably done this before. But in reality, it was her first time to deal with a swindler, which makes it mighty impressive that she was able to beat Henry at his own game.
Besides her win, Brittany revealed that she never heard back from the authorities after she reported Henry. Apart from notifications that her complaints were recorded, there was zero action on their end. Maybe it was really a good idea that Brittany went ahead and dealt with the matter alone!
An Overwhelming Public Response
Once Brittany shared her story online, many people were incredibly supportive of her actions, no matter how out of this world they may have been. Readers from across the globe were impressed at how she didn't even flinch when Henry returned her calls and more so when the confrontation with his fiancée began.
Indeed, Brittany moved heaven and earth to teach this deceiving man that nothing god will come out of cheating on an innocent. She swore Henry’s life would never be at peace, and Brittany got her wish in the end.
The Worst Possible Outcome
As far as outcomes go, Henry Beacon's current situation is far from desirable. Firstly, his reputation was tarnished after Brittany reported him to several government institutions such as the FTC and the FDIC. It's safe to say he might not land a job in the corporate world should he wish to one day.
Next is Henry’s relationship with his fiancée – it’s since gone up in smoke after she learned about his wrong ways! Aside from that, his family, particularly his father, are horrified about the shame it has brought to their family.
How It Happened
Some may wonder if there would also be repercussions on Brittany's end, considering it's illegal to represent a private company falsely. So, she decided to clear things up by announcing that the entire investigation was purely her own. That includes all the reports she made to the FDIC.
To further establish her innocence, she clarified that PA&P was just for the email address and nothing more. Brittany also assured her readers that she didn't make this story up! Not only does she not have the time, but she isn't even that creative.
A Big Issue
This remarkable story may have a happy ending for Brittany, but she’s still bummed about not having a PS5. Since she got her cash back, her budget wasn’t at stake. The only problem was, there wasn’t any stock left, be it at Best Buy, Walmart, or Amazon. Although there were available consoles, they were priced ridiculously high at $1000 a set, thanks to scalpers!
Unfortunately, this is a recurring problem once a new gadget is released on the market. Even the manufacturers have trouble controlling them since the advent of high-tech bots that troll a distributor’s web inventory.
All’s Well that Ends Well
Too bad Brittany had to experience such tedious events because of one man who thought he could earn a few bucks. Thankfully, she handled everything well, despite the issues that came her way. And those who read her ordeal agrees.
Some lauded Brittany for her imaginative methods in cracking the case, saying it's a fantastic 'learning moment.' Others even shared their own scamming experiences. It suffices to say, we could all learn a thing or two from Brittany, and if more people fight back, scammers would truly think twice before fooling another person!