The Scammers Are Coming! The Scammers Are Coming!

The other morning, something happened on Medium that I never would have expected. A scammer lured me into their web. The profile was that of a woman, but it could have been a unicorn for all that mattered. More than likely, it was a man. I would say he was from another country, but he could have been from anywhere these days.

As more and more lazy people find out that they can make large amounts of money running scams, and as they see how easily they can mask themselves as other people using AI, scams have become prolific.

The Problem

Initially, these criminals trolled free social media sites, but they are at least making it a bit more difficult for them to use AI content without detection. Sadly, that affects honest people’s use of AI’s capabilities as well.

I use it daily to animate my drawings and paintings for reels. Now I have to label every single animated element as AI-generated. This is ridiculous, since people can’t possibly be that stupid as to see a drawing spring to life and believe it is real, but there it is. The good get punished with the bad. The irony is that I have been reporting instances of scams and AI use in them for over two years, and they couldn’t have cared less.

The blanket response I always received was that there were no violations of community standards. Really! I’d like to understand in what universe scamming a widow out of her life savings is not a violation of standards, let alone of decency.

Furthermore, it wasn’t until the government grew sick and tired of receiving complaints to the FTC that any of the platforms put anything in place to even detect it. Shame on them. Too little, too late.

Let me get into the nuts and bolts of the matter.

The New Hunting Field

I was lazily perusing my notifications the other morning, while having my morning cup of Joey, when I came across a comment on one of my stories. It was thoughtful and complimentary, so I replied.

I thanked her for the compliment and insight and answered her question about my motivation for the piece. This was all she needed.

The next response included an email address and a brief note saying she had some human-interest stories she’d like me to read, along with some candid advice. I checked her profile, and it looked legit, with stories posted and a couple of followers. No worries there. So I emailed her off of Medium.

This doesn’t matter much, and I’ll explain why shortly.

Here’s What Happened

I emailed her and told her to send the story or stories, and she did. She sent me one. I read it. It was okay but flat. I read it again. It was nondescript. It wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t very engaging or enticing, unlike the author you are currently reading, who grabs you and takes you on a journey beyond the human realm. (Chuckle here. I dare you not to.)

Next thing I know, she sends me an email asking if I had a chance to read it. I had replied after reading it, so I told her I had read it and sent her an email afterward. Red flag number 1.

I went back and reread the story because that email asking if I had read it didn’t sit right. As I reread the story, I got a ping that I had yet another email. It was from her.

This email cast the dye. She began with a tragic sob story. She had her period and severe, debilitating cramps and needed medicine but didn’t have any money. She asked me for money to help her out, out of the kindness of my heart. She didn’t know that my heart had been all but calcified by the 250-plus scammers I had met while researching my series on scams. I won’t even entertain helping someone I don’t know anymore.

To be honest, I didn’t even finish reading the lies. I took a screenshot of the solicitation and reported it to Google. Then I went hunting for the feed from her initial point of contact with me. It took me a while because I couldn’t remember which story it was or what her name was on Medium. It didn’t match the name in her email.

Hunting for Evidence

You would think evidence could be found in my notifications, but it was gone. I searched each of my stories directly, and there was no evidence of it.

I looked up her name from the email address, and obviously it was different from the Medium account. So I consulted the oracle. Yep, you guessed it: Grok, an AI bot. Don’t think I miss the irony in that: I don’t.

I found it with the all-knowing seer and began screenshotting every bit of it. I went to her profile, took a pic of it and her name there, and then I reported it to Medium directly.

I’d like to add that Medium makes it impossible to get a hold of them or to find where to send this kind of report. That should be changed. There should be a button at the top of the Medium header that is specific to reporting scammer activity. So the Oracle consultation, once again, came through. Grok for the win there.

Action Hero

I will say this: Medium at least took care of it immediately, whereas the social media sites usually don’t give a damn, Scarlet.

I received an email from them promptly and was informed that the account had been removed. Now THAT is service.

So, this is what I want to leave with you.

Scammers are now paying for platforms to access fresh victims. It’s not surprising, really. They don’t lack money from their ill-gotten gains. They can afford it.

We, or maybe it was just me, thought I would be safe from them on platforms you have to pay for, especially when you join the partner program. But that is no longer the case. They are everywhere.

Etomology Lesson

By the way, did you know that a cockroach lays anywhere from 14 to 48 eggs in each pod it drops, and it can lay over 14 pods in its lifetime?

“But Alex, why the insect lesson in the middle of the article?” you ask yourself. Because that is what we are dealing with: a worldwide cockroach infestation. It will never be eliminated. Anyone who’s ever lived in New York knows this is true.

Some Clues for You

On a side note, the sob story was AI-generated, but since it was in Gmail and not on Medium, it would not be detected using Medium’s detection methods.

I will tell you, it lacked emotion. It was very generic and flat. So, look carefully at all comments before you respond. This woman, or whoever, had targeted another profile besides mine.

If you lose the feed of someone you suspect is a scammer, go to their profile and look at their feeds. They are public, so read them. Look for a pattern. The exact same words she used in my messages were used in others. That’s several red flags right there.

A Thank You and a Caution

I would like to thank Medium for their lightning-fast response and for protecting their site and us.

Be wary, everyone; trust no one anymore; be diligent and pay attention. They are everywhere these days.

If you aren’t sure, I will be more than happy to help you determine whether anything you see is untoward and whether it’s a possibility.

May the odds be ever in your favor and against theirs.

(Published by Illumination on Medium, July 2026)

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