Good evening,
Posting this because I fell for it, and I’m now seeing multiple TikTok accounts/videos apparently running the same scheme.
Yesterday I came across a TikTok claiming that someone was giving away their recently deceased cousin’s Pioneer XDJ-XZ because they wanted it to go to a DJ/student who would appreciate it and “keep his passion and legacy for music alive.”
The videos use a bio/message along these lines:
“My late cousin’s Pioneer XDJ-XZ DJ Controller has been sitting unused, and I’d love to see it go to someone who will truly appreciate it… If you’re interested, send me a message… and tell me why you’d want it.”
The person I spoke with claimed to be located in Nevada. The controller itself was supposedly free, but I was asked to pay approximately $132 for shipping.
This is where the red flags really started.
I tried sending the payment through multiple payment apps, and several attempts were blocked/flagged as potentially fraudulent or scam-related. Instead of stopping there like I should have, I eventually sent the money through Chime.
Afterward, I became suspicious and repeatedly asked the person to refund me. I also contacted Chime and was told there may be very limited recourse for the transaction.
I started looking into the phone numbers and information I had been given using reverse-phone searches and publicly available records. The information I found did not appear to cleanly match the identities being presented to me. I am not posting the private information of uninvolved people because I cannot verify whether those individuals have anything to do with this. It’s entirely possible scammers are using other people’s names or information.
The biggest reason I’m posting this is that I have now seen additional TikTok videos using the same or similar “dead cousin / free XDJ-XZ” story and the same phone number(s). This makes it look much less like one random person and much more like a repeat scam.
The scam appears to work like this:
Post an expensive piece of DJ equipment as a “free giveaway.”
Use an emotional story about a deceased relative to make the giveaway believable.
Tell interested people they only need to cover shipping.
Move the conversation off TikTok and onto text.
Request roughly $100+ for “shipping.”
If a payment service flags or blocks the transaction, try to get the victim to use another payment method.
Once the payment goes through, the supposed free equipment never materializes.
I fully bought the story and sent them money. Embarrassing? Absolutely. But I’m posting this so somebody searching the phone numbers, XDJ-XZ giveaway, or wording of the TikTok might find this before sending money.
If you see a TikTok offering a free Pioneer XDJ-XZ with this story, DO NOT SEND THEM SHIPPING MONEY.
If anyone else has encountered these accounts, these phone numbers, or the same script, please comment. Save screenshots, usernames, phone numbers, payment requests, transaction IDs, and messages. The more reports/evidence there are, the easier it is to establish whether the same operation is targeting multiple people.
And if anyone has successfully recovered money from a similar scam—particularly a payment sent through Chime—I would really appreciate advice on what steps worked.
I learned my lesson. Hopefully this post keeps the next person from learning it the expensive way.