Description

Hi, I was contacted by an account on IG (@scott_mc_james) offering alternative medicine (medically legal where I am). I stupidly fell for it and made a purchase for $150 using Apple Pay. I was given a tracking number from the seller from Instagram, “Scott,” where the shipping status read “on hold” for well past the expected delivery date. After that I was contacted via email by the shipping company that went by “Global Swift Shippings” about my order from “Scott.” The email included the tracking number I was given from Scott. They were demanding shipping insurance fees that I was not notified about prior to making the purchase. After covering the fee I would receive another email with another fee needed for an escort as my package needed “discreet shipping.” Scott’s storefront seemed legit as I saw screenshots from other “satisfied customers” saying they were happy with their orders and everything went smoothly, along with other convincing signs such as a group chat for the customers to have discussions. After paying the second fee I received another email, for another surprise fee. This went on for a week, and I lost a lot of money. They were telling me how the fees were required for safety purposes and the package could not be delivered until the fees were made. These fees were apparently refunded upon delivery so I thought I’d be okay. Legal threats were made in nearly all the emails, which triggered my anxiety and jeopardized my judgment. These fees ranged from $250 to $1,000. The so called last fee was for $1,500, which I didn’t have. After scurrying for a solution, I dug deeper to find out more about the company. Low and behold, Global Swift Shippings (I’ve also seen it as Global Swift Logistics) is a scamming site. After confirming that, I blocked the numbers, email, and Instagram account. Amongst that nonsense I got a text about my package needing to be redelivered. Thinking it was my long awaited package from Scott, I entered my debit card info to pay what I was told was a $0.30 fee. Luckily I shut my card off but saw denied transactions come through, but no money was taken from my account. However I did choose to pay GSS and Scott via Apple Pay because I thought it was true. I can’t believe I let it go that far. I attached screenshots of the payments I made to the numbers I was given, and emails from GSS, and some messages from Scott on IG and Telegram as I’ve blocked the accounts and got rid of the messages. I believe some viruses made it on my phone. The estimated amount of money lost is an approximate while I make sure no more money came out. Thanks for any help!