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Scam information

This content is based on victim and potential victim accounts. Government agencies and legitimate business names and phone numbers are often used by scam artists to take advantage of people.

Description

I found a listing for a harp on Facebook Marketplace by Helen Watson’s sister, Adriana Carr. They said they were giving it away for free because it was their late husbands, and it was still in Nevada storage & they couldn’t keep holding onto it for sentimental reasons, so they wanted to find it a good home. Adriana told me to email Helen, who would get me set up with her cousin who lives in Nevada and is handling the storage unit. Helen gave me the phone number of Henry, who said he had a Chime account where we could send over some money for shipping of the harp. Shipping was only $250 for standard, so I asked if we could have insurance for it as well. That came out to about $550 altogether. Helen then said she was hoping to get some assistance in paying off the remainder of the rental unit, since it was the holidays and the total was about $890 dollars, $500 of which she already put in, but she was short another $290. I told her I would be happy to pay it and she could reimburse me on the 15th. When I had sent the money over to Henry again, he had requested a different account than before (still Chime). After I sent the money, I was told to expect the shipping information the next morning. When I didn’t hear from them, I messaged. And messaged. And messaged. That’s when I found the Reddit post about this same story, happening in several cities throughout the US. Here are the Chime accounts that were originally shared with me for payments: $Matthew-Goodall-2, $Sheri-Frost-1, [email protected] Email for Helen: [email protected] FB Profile for Adriana: https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item/61577708404646/ It looks like they have run this scam many times over, both with a pedal harp as well as a guitar and piano. Retrospectively I see all the red flags, but during the entire process I was fully convinced it was a solid exchange, and I like to think I’m very wary of scams.

Dollars Lost

$750

Targeted Person's Location

LA, USA - 70250

Scammer Information
Scammer location logo

Lafayette, LA

Mobile logo

(425) 616-9824

Web logo

Unknown URL

Scam Type

Online Purchase

Learn More

Business name

Unknown

Date Reported

December 31, 2025

Scam ID

1147444


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