Cyber Security Expert Who Got Scammed Tracks Down Scammer’s Family On Facebook

For years, Christian Haschek had a $500 Apple store gift card he’s always wanted to get rid of. He eventually felt selling it on Reddit could finally do the trick. It turned out, however, that that wasn’t the wisest of ideas.

A buyer asked Haschek to mail the card to him before he paid it up. Haschek readily agreed, giving the buyer the “benefit of the doubt,” but once the guy got the cards, he started deleting all the accounts he used during his transactions with the seller.

Unknown to the scammer, however, he was messing with the wrong person.

You see, Haschek is a cyber security expert who owns a company that employs many cyber security researchers. Utilizing his technical know-how, he successfully tracked down the scammer on Facebook. He then went through the guy’s contacts and found his brother and mother. He wrote a message for them, telling them about the scammer stealing his cards.

A scammer on Reddit stole the $500 Apple store gift cards of Christian Haschek – who works as a cyber security expert. He later tracked the scammer’s family on Facebook.

Within 10 minutes, Haschek immediately received a message from the scammer. It’s a pretty satisfying read, to say the least!

The scammer wrote:

“I am sorry for what I did. I am young and stupid and always in a really bad place. I am a full-time student and I have no job. I contacted Apple and got a gift card back. I can. Give you your gift card back I have a card for $477 and one of the existing card you gave me should have the remaining balance. Please leave me alone after this I won’t do anything like this anymore I am having panic attacks just thinking about this.

“I do not have the bitcoins if I did I would have sent it to you already. I have literally 0 money and as a full-time college student I have no savings please I beg you to understand I have had a handful of anxiety attacks in the past few days over this issue and I am extremely scared. All I want is to leave me alone I know what I did was wrong please I beg you to forgive me.”

He also promised:

“I will never do anything like this again. I have 6 classes and I am a full-time student I can’t even go to work to pay you back. I would immediately pay I back if I could but I am broke and living on cheap fast-food. Please, I beg you to forgive me and accept the card I returned I am very sorry I did this to you.”

Haschek agreed he will not tell the cops as long as the scammer sold the cards and sent the money to him – which he eventually did. He, however, warned the scammer that if he ever did anything like that again, then he’d “drop everything (he has) about him.”

“I will never do anything like this again,” the scammer promised. “Please I beg you to forgive me.”

The scammer said yes and begged:

“Again I am so sorry and thank you. Can I also ask you to delete all contact with my family and friends you contacted my brother and he is freaked out. Can you please delete or make something up before my mother sees the message you wrote her and avoid further contact with my brother and delete him. Please and thank you.”

May this serve as a lesson for all scammers out there.