# What is this scam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 18, 2022, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/963007 "2022-04-18T19:32:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/963007/1 "2022-04-18T19:32:16Z")
I received this message on Linkedin. > Hello David. This is Chun. I found some U.S. software projects. To start project my client wants to send laptop. Can you receive it and turn it on please? So I can work remotely? I can pay some money for this? What he’s saying doesn’t make much sense. Why would he need me to host a laptop for him to work on remotely? He obviously has his own computer. But I can’t figure out the scam. It seems unlikely but could this be someone trying to plant connected laptops around the country for nefarious purposes? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/963007/2 "2022-04-18T19:34:26Z")
Probably the beginning of a longer scam – they send this to thousands of accounts and assume those who respond are more gullible and more likely to accede to further requests, whether for money, gift cards, bank info, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/963007/3 "2022-04-18T19:39:09Z")
Probably, the next part is something like, “I sent the laptop, but it’s stuck in customs unless someone provides a SSN to prove they’re supposed to pick it up. Can you give me your SSN, so I can tell them you’re authorized to pick up the laptop?” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/963007/4 "2022-04-18T19:40:26Z")
Or: “I’m sending you a 2000 dollar money order to purchase this 1200 dollar laptop. Please purchase it, send me 500 back, and keep the rest as your fee.” Of course, the money order is fraudulent and you end up on the hook for the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/963007/5 "2022-04-18T19:54:24Z")
All of these suggestions make sense. I can’t really play with this scammer since he knows my name. I’ll just report him and reject the contact request. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/963007/6 "2022-04-18T20:41:25Z")
Or maybe the scammer is using the laptop for hacking, knowing that it can be traced to your address? ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/963007/7 "2022-04-18T20:59:27Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I can’t really play with this scammer since he knows my name. You could create a brand new throwaway email address with a fake name and reply from that one. The scammer is unlikely to bother attempting to connect up the replies with the addresses they actually spammed. In case they’re more clever than average, don’t quote any of the original message when you respond from the other address, in case there was tracking steganography embedded in it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/963007/9 "2022-04-18T22:56:59Z")
A post was merged into an existing topic: [Anything’s Troll Post Replies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anythings-troll-post-replies/963017/3) ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/963007/11 "2022-04-19T19:42:08Z")
In order for them to work remotely, the laptop will have to be connected to a network - your network. Now a hacker has a laptop connected to your network. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/963007/12 "2022-04-19T20:08:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > “I’m sending you a 2000 dollar money order to purchase this 1200 dollar laptop. Another angle: Sometimes, they direct you to buy from a particular vendor.