Hi all,

The mod team has seen a very serious increase in scam attempts from scammers using a very similar script.

The most common clue is they refer to themselves as a "philanthropist."

They will often show you screenshots of alleged payments they have sent to other people, as well as screenshots from the other person saying "OMG you saved my life" etc.

They will almost always be brand new accounts with zero or little karma.

These scammers create and abandon accounts too quickly for banning them to be of much use but we still try.

What you can do to protect yourself:

• Never accept a remote check, e-check, virtual check, mobile deposit check, or anything like that. These are fake and will be charged back to you once your financial institution tries to clear it.

• Never take the conversation off of Reddit! Scammers will ask you to contact them via text, Telegram, WhatsApp, etc so that their activity can't be seen by Reddit.

• Adjust your Reddit messaging/chat settings. This allows you to disable new accounts from messaging you. Note: You can even choose "Nobody" for extra protection -- anyone YOU message will be able to reply.

• Check the Universal Scammer List to see if they are already banned.

• Report suspicious messages to modmail ASAP! We'll need a screenshot so please have one ready -- you can upload it to ImgUR or ImgBB