DON'T FALL FOR THIS YOUTUBE SCAM!

What's up, everybody!? I wanted to take a moment to talk about a serious issue that has come to our attention. Unfortunately, there are individuals out there who are trying to take advantage of the community that we have built here. They are leaving fake comments, posing as others, and trying to scam innocent people. It's been an honor to engage with TFL viewers through giveaways that we've done on the channel. Unfortunately, there have been some other "giveaways" on the channel... Scammers have been impersonating me and commenting on my videos telling viewers that they've "Won a prize" Today we're going to get in contact with these scammers and try to put it to rest! Rest assured, if you've participated in a TFL giveaway, I will NOT contact you VIA YouTube comment. Be aware of these scams! LET'S GO!

At Target Focused Life, we take the security of our viewers very seriously. That's why we've taken the time to warn you about these scammers and make sure that you stay safe while interacting with our videos. In this blog, I'll be sharing some tips on how you can spot these scammers and protect yourself from their deceit.

First and foremost, be wary of any comments that seem too good to be true. For example, if someone is offering you a free giveaway or a discount on a product, it's probably too good to be true. The scammers know that these types of comments will get attention, so they use them to lure people in. Another red flag to watch out for is when the commentor uses broken English or misspells simple words. This is a common tactic used by scammers to avoid detection. If you receive a message from someone claiming to be from Target Focused Life, be sure to double-check the username or email address. Scammers often create fake email addresses that are similar to legitimate ones in order to trick you into thinking that they are from us. By following these tips, you can stay safe and protect yourself from these scammers. At Target Focused Life, we're committed to creating a safe and secure community, and we'll continue to work hard to keep it that way.

I was actually able to connect with one of these scammers and acted like I had seen his comment. The scam goes like this:

1. They bait you with a comment using my profile picture. The username is often "Target Focused Life Giveaway" or something along those lines. Some usernames even say "TFL on Telegram contact to claim prize!" If the username is not "Target Focused Life", It's not me

2. When someone falls for this and reaches out to the fake username, the scammers will often want you to contact them via a messaging app like telegram as these platforms are harder to trace and don't require location sharing. (These scammers are usually international)

3. Once they message you back, they'll tell you what you've won! It's usually expensive technology. The scammer I was talking to said I had won a MacBook and a pS5. These are popular items that make a lot of people more intrigued by the thought of "winning" them. 

4. They'll tell you that before you can claim the prize, you must front the shipping costs. They'll often ask for your address at this time and expect you to transfer funds for the shipping VIA a third party like Zelle, Venmo, or Cash App. Some scammers will even ask you to send them payment VIA Google or Amazon gift cards as they can easily exchange these for untraceable currency like Bitcoin.

5. If you fall for the shipping thing, they'll collect your money, and not send the items. IT'S ALL A LIE. They'll often times block you after this and you're out whatever the "shipping was" which can be anywhere from $100 to $1,000. 

The scammer I connected with on the phone apologized rather quickly and said that he had to do what he had to do to provide for his sick mom, his siblings, and to pay his way through school. The sad thing is that these sob stories may be true to an extent. But be aware, they can also be inflated lies. I suspect this scammer's story was a bit stretched when he said that he could work for me and make shoes starting next month. But before he could start, he needed $100 to buy a special machine to make the shoes first. If he hadn't had the machine already, how could I believe that he could actually make shoes...? It was a rather quick conversation overall. I was astonished that he had the boldness to ask me for more money when I had already called him out. His scam had caused me a big PR headache by having to delete hundreds of comments, and not having REAL TFL giveaway winners believe that they had actually won. I think the scammer eventually understood that he had messed with the wrong channel. My hope is that he moves on from my channel but just in case, be aware of scam comments that will still be out there. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, and please feel free to share it with others who may benefit from this information. Together, we can put an end to these scammers and keep our community strong.

Whether our targets in the field or our targets in life, we will only hit what we are focused on, so live the #targetfocusedlife 

Stay Target Focused,

Steve