Jack Recider

So this guy, a listener of mine, says he bought a house and during this process, he gave $250,000 to the escrow company. But then someone scammed the escrow company. They posed as the seller and said, hey, could you just deposit the money into our bank account directly? And escrow's like, oh yeah, of course, no problem. We do this all the time. Here you go.

So this guy, a listener of mine, says he bought a house and during this process, he gave $250,000 to the escrow company. But then someone scammed the escrow company. They posed as the seller and said, hey, could you just deposit the money into our bank account directly? And escrow's like, oh yeah, of course, no problem. We do this all the time. Here you go.

And they deposited the $250,000 into the scammer's account instead of the actual seller. But here's the crazy part. Because the seller never got the money, escrow wouldn't give the keys to the buyer. They were being jerks about it. They were trying to say, oh, sorry, we lost the money. No house for you. The deal has been canceled. And the buyer's like, whoa, no, no, no. That's what escrow is for.

And they deposited the $250,000 into the scammer's account instead of the actual seller. But here's the crazy part. Because the seller never got the money, escrow wouldn't give the keys to the buyer. They were being jerks about it. They were trying to say, oh, sorry, we lost the money. No house for you. The deal has been canceled. And the buyer's like, whoa, no, no, no. That's what escrow is for.

You're our trusted third party. We trusted you to do this deal. You screwed up and that's not our problem. That's yours. But escrow's like, hmm, I never got an update on what happened here and if this got resolved. I think the buyer took escrow to court to try to get their money back.

You're our trusted third party. We trusted you to do this deal. You screwed up and that's not our problem. That's yours. But escrow's like, hmm, I never got an update on what happened here and if this got resolved. I think the buyer took escrow to court to try to get their money back.

What a nightmare, though, to send a huge check somewhere only for it to go to the wrong place and then someone else runs off with the money. Ah!

What a nightmare, though, to send a huge check somewhere only for it to go to the wrong place and then someone else runs off with the money. Ah!

These are true stories from the dark side of the Internet. I'm Jack Recider. This is Darknet Diaries.

These are true stories from the dark side of the Internet. I'm Jack Recider. This is Darknet Diaries.

This episode is brought to you by SpyCloud. For some people, ignorance is bliss. But for you, as a security practitioner, that's not the case. I went to spycloud.com to check into my darknet exposure, and I won't tell you what it is, but spoiler alert, I found some things that are pretty eye-opening.

This episode is brought to you by SpyCloud. For some people, ignorance is bliss. But for you, as a security practitioner, that's not the case. I went to spycloud.com to check into my darknet exposure, and I won't tell you what it is, but spoiler alert, I found some things that are pretty eye-opening.

From breach exposures to info stealing malware infections, knowing what criminals know about you and your business is the first step to setting things right. Resetting stolen passwords and addressing the enterprise access points that have been stolen by malware helps you protect your business from ransomware, account takeovers, and online fraud.

From breach exposures to info stealing malware infections, knowing what criminals know about you and your business is the first step to setting things right. Resetting stolen passwords and addressing the enterprise access points that have been stolen by malware helps you protect your business from ransomware, account takeovers, and online fraud.

With SpyCloud, you have a trusted partner to fight the good fight with. Their automated solutions, which is built on over 350 billion recaptured assets from the criminal underground, ensure you're not in the dark when it comes to your company's exposure to cybercrime. To get your full Darknet exposure report, visit spycloud.com slash darknetdiaries.

With SpyCloud, you have a trusted partner to fight the good fight with. Their automated solutions, which is built on over 350 billion recaptured assets from the criminal underground, ensure you're not in the dark when it comes to your company's exposure to cybercrime. To get your full Darknet exposure report, visit spycloud.com slash darknetdiaries.

That's spycloud.com slash darknetdiaries.

That's spycloud.com slash darknetdiaries.

This episode is sponsored by Delete Me. In episode 133, I spoke to Connor Tumbleson about some people from who knows where who were stealing his identity. Luckily, they weren't out to destroy his reputation or extort him, but think of the damage that could be done. We all have data out there, which data brokers use to make profit.

This episode is sponsored by Delete Me. In episode 133, I spoke to Connor Tumbleson about some people from who knows where who were stealing his identity. Luckily, they weren't out to destroy his reputation or extort him, but think of the damage that could be done. We all have data out there, which data brokers use to make profit.