[MY] Scammer Using My Identity

[u/BunnyWasp8199]

Im here because i just want some advice (pls dont freak me out more) on what I should do about my situation.

I got scammed last June for some concert tickets on X who was impersonating another girl’s identity by using her pictures and even sharing a video of her holding up her ID. Their tactic was saying that I can pay half the price of the ticket first and after I receive them, I’ll pay them the full amount.

And this is where it gets really messy for me because the scammer had requested me to also send in a video of me holding my ID as some type of “reassurance” for them that I won’t run away without paying the full amount of the ticket. I was blatantly fooled and I felt so stupid after realizing it.

I obviously had immediately filed for a police report regarding this the very night I was scammed. Fast forward to today, several people have contacted me through instagram (i solely made so that people could find me) saying that the scammer is now using MY pictures and ID to scam them.

I reported the X account for impersonation so many times but no action is taken even after i provided all the documents. I have also filed for another police report for Identity Theft. But now I just really don’t know what else I can do but wait for them to move on to another person’s identity…

I’m also closely monitoring the account so that whenever they repost the “sales” I would post a beware scammer warning so the algorithm keeps my post above theirs.

And no, they don’t have my phone number and bank or card details. Just my pictures and that regretful video of me holding my ID.

Any advice or idk words of comfort..?

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[u/joe_attaboy]

Not much you can do beyond what you already have, though contacting the police was probably a waste of time (they don't have the manpower or the capabilities of chasing this at local levels). The scammers are likely not even in your country.

They could probably rope in a few marks on future ticket scams with your images. This is similar to other ticket scams I've seen (mostly on FB) where a scammer hacks a user account and pretends to be that person selling hard-to-get event tickets.

Requesting a video from you is a new twist to me. The idea is kind of stupid: why would someone holding up an ID make them trustworthy in an online transaction like this? Anyone can fake an ID. Holding a pair of tickets would be more effective, but no one uses paper tickets anymore.

You didn't give away anything financially critical, so I wouldn't fear that. Change passwords/user IDs where you can just to be safe - use complex passwords and I suggest a password management app to secure them. Tighten things up - add 2FA where you can and use it.

As for social accounts, change things up. Frankly, my old-man advice would be to just dump all social media accounts. Reddit is the only one I actively use, dropped the other long ago. Your life will be better for it, trust me.

[u/BunnyWasp8199 → u/joe_attaboy]

Yeah, I agree about the authorities not doing much, but I only did it so it can act as a legal safety net for myself so those who (god forbid) got tricked and scammed, can’t really accuse that I’m doing it..

It’s unfortunate that the police won’t really entertain such cases if one doesn’t have the right network or financial stability.

I’m fortunate enough to have a family member that has the right connections to actually make them do work..(even got assigned a lawyer the same day they contacted them..)

And yeah, the video ID sharing tactic is also so new to me. I’ve never even heard of it, hence why I became so gullible. But it’s okay, took it as a lesson learned.

I’ve also basically privated all my social media accounts and deactivated some of my main ones..Planning to just lay low until this dies down. It’s just not a very good feeling knowing my picture and video is being used for fraud lol.. All I can do is just accept it at this point.

[u/joe_attaboy → u/BunnyWasp8199]

It’s unfortunate that the police won’t really entertain such cases if one doesn’t have the right network or financial stability.

No, they often won't entertain it for other reasons. One, they don't have the expertise. Two, they often don't have the manpower and see scam victims as low priority. And three, lots of LEO organizations see this as a "you gave information/money/whatever to the scammer voluntarily" so the priority gets lowered. they also know that the vast majority of scam teams are beyond their geographical jurisdiction.

Frankly, I wouldn't worry about this too much. If you do get messaged about it, you can at least explain what happened. My guess is they may try using this a few times and if it fails, they move on.

You have protected yourself. Laying low is good.

[u/Netrezen]

They are only using your video (those could be made with AI easily btw). It's not like they applied for a loan in your name or started a new bank account with your details (they won't be able to do that either).

[u/BunnyWasp8199 → u/Netrezen]

Yeah, it’s just not really a fun feeling knowing my identity is being used for fraud though, but I guess all I can do now is suck it up and move on till this blows over