Artist Rudy Shepherd is no stranger to the idea that you can affect change by messing with people’s heads, but he was entirely new to the way a scammer messed with his head to affect a drastic negative change to his bank balance.
Many independent artists make a living online these days, and the change has not gone unnoticed by scammers. Artists are actually an ideal target, since they make a living in what is often a stressful feast-or-famine environment, which injects emotion into their business deals. That means they are more likely to make a mistake, or not think through the mechanics of a purchase transaction.
That is precisely what happened to Rudy Shepherd. Distracted by a legit sale gone sideways, he didn’t catch on to the scam sale that came in over the transom and sent money that went walkabout for three years, until Zelle was finally forced to reconsider its punk-ass policy back when he was originally scammed.
Listen to the latest episode wherever you get your audio.
Read the transcript here.
About the Hosts
Adam Levin is the former Director of Consumer Affairs for the State of New Jersey, serial entrepreneur and author of Swiped, which he wrote with his sidekick, writer and cyber mensch, Beau Friedlander. With expert commentary from Travis “Here’s What Actually Happened” Taylor, the show gets everything sorted out—or not—but either way you’re going to have a great time. Something weird happen to you? We’ve got your back.
Credits
What the Hack with Adam Levin is a production of Loud Tree Media and is produced by Andrew Steven.
More Ways to Listen
