I Wasted the Time of a Facebook Scammer in the Hopes it Helped Spare Someone Else Their Swindle

It's a grift that has been around forever but refuses to go away. Someone on Facebook contacts you and claims to work for the company. Then they say you won some mysterious lottery that entitles you to a bunch of money- and it isn't a scam, promise! It boggles my mind that people fall for this scam, but there are desperate and susceptible folks in the World. Hence, when a scammer tried to tell me I had somehow earned 600,000 in, "United State currency," as well as a truck, I decided I would waste their time in the hopes it saved someone else from being preyed upon by them.

It all began when a woman named Marie Linda messaged me. We had some mutual friends who worked in comic-books. I thought she perhaps was a comic creator who wanted to ask me to review something--an event that has occurred multiple times. I'll get folks messaging me through various means about their comic. No, however, she told me she actually worked for Facebook and I had apparently won a lottery. I immediately told her how excited I was and my plans for the money...

If you don't feel like clicking the image, I basically tell Marie how I'll use the money to bail my cousin, Jimbo, out of jail and then pay a girl I know for feet pictures. After Marie insisted I focus and pay attention, I apologized and asked if she wanted to see some memes. I proceeded to send her incredibly weird Veggie Tales pictures with bible quotes about death and Hell as well as a meme about how Snickers look like a veiny penis. I informed her I wanted to make money finding memes online like my friend Phil. I told her his full name was Phil Deez Nuts. Marie then sent the absolutely fakest pictures possible of stacks of money and a truck before I asked if I could have a car instead, at which point she said that was fine and sent pictures of a car that looked like they came from a Google search. Then things got weirder.

To prove how legitimate this lottery was Marie sent me a screenshot of an official FBI document signed by James Comey...who wasn't even working at the FBI when the lottery drawing supposedly happened a few months ago as Trump fired him, anyone who follows the news may recall. I didn't point this out, I just said how I didn't trust the FBI because they tried to shut down my goat farm. Here is the, "Official," letter in question:

Wait, there's more! Apparently, Marie wanted to share with me pictures of winners holding up pieces of paper advertising all the money they won as well as a screenshot of a news story about a winner that totally looked authentic. She seriously sent me this:

I don't know about you, but that really boosts my confidence in this whole thing being an authentic giveaway. I told Marie that I wanted more money and she should take some from other winners and give it to me. I was informed I should not be greedy and I apologized. I told Marie I was exhausted from working at a jar factory where I helped make jars but sometimes farted in them. I asked her not to tell anyone about that though. She responded with a laughing emoji but I was pretty sure her patience was wearing thin with me. At this point, she typed out and sent me a list of a whole bunch of personal information she needed to start the process of getting me paid (information Facebook would already have anyways). I told her I needed to make a sandwich that I would eat nude to feel closer to nature. 

She stopped responding after this as I continued to type random gibberish such as asking if Mark Zuckerberg was actually a robot created by Bill Clinton. I closed our conversation by saying she must have figured out I was messing with her and that she should be ashamed of being a scammer. I blocked and reported her. It was an entertaining way to pass 15 minutes and I really do hope the time that, "Marie Linda," wasted with me helped keep someone else from being fooled. I mean, that or she really did want to give me $600,000 and I made a huge mistake. That official news story did say the lottery was, "Real and Legitimate," after all...

Please, PLEASE, Don't Buy a Fake Title as a Lord or Lady

So many scams...

If you're on Facebook like me you've probably seen ads about how you can buy a few feet of land in Scotland and then legally call yourself a Lord or Lady in the hopes it'll get you better services at restaurants or when booking a hotel. Yes, it sounds stupid, but perhaps it is legit and a fun little gimmick. Well, I'm sorry to tell you it is as much of a scam as owning a star named for you or buying a plot of land on Mars. Articles have been written about how this is all just flim-flam, many, many articles. In fact, there is a real Lord, Richard, 7th Earl of Bradford, who has a website dedicated to how these titles are all fake--with the exception of the few legit ones you can buy for a cool 100K.

I get it, you want a fun little gimmick gift to give to somebody or think that if you have a little sheet of paper that declares you a, "Lord/Lady," it might get you more respect at a restaurant where you don't have a reservation and the wait for a table is atrocious. You're just giving money to a scam, however. You can get the exact same result by printing out your own fake title at home, and it costs you nothing.

A New Comic Publisher Whose Work I'm Enjoying--Comixtribe

Some Good Stuff

Comixtribe is an independent comic's publisher that has put out some neat stuff. They started out super small-press, not even using Diamond Distributors as they were just so new and little-known. Instead they went directly to comic stores and would see if said stores were interested in stocking their comics. That is how I came across some of Comixtribe's stuff a bit ago in one of my stores, "Newcastle Comics". I've been happy to see they have grown enough to the point you can now find their fine books in "Previews". Thanks to my store having a good stock of it, I have read everything they have put out so far. Therefore, I thought I would discuss their comics.

"Scam" #1-3

This has had the most issues put out so far, with three currently released. This is has been described by folk as "Ocean's 11" with superpowers and I'd agree. You've got a team of people trying to run a con-job on a casino owned by a former member of their team who screwed them all over awhile ago. It's a a fun read that I've enjoyed but have a complaint about. The art is quite nice, but doesn't always make all the characters look too different, which can be a problem as the story mainly focuses on a few of them resulting in the rest feeling a bit interchangeable or otherwise forgettable. The plot itself is continuing to intrigue me however, as the twists and turns are not always what I expect--a hard trick to pull off on someone who has read enough comics to often accurately predict what is going to happen in a book.
3 out of 5 stars (for all the issues together)

"The Red Ten" #1-2 & "Oxymoron" Hardcover

I supported the "Oxymoron" Kickstarter and was pleased to see it grow into a bigger hardcover with nice alternate covers and other goodies. I supported it at the level where (with some extra funds for other goodies I wanted) I got the signed book (with a snazzy alternate cover) and it had an artist's sketch inside, some pins, a bookmark, an art print, and Kickstarter-exclusive alternate-cover versions of "The Red Ten" #1 and #2. All this was 40-ish dollars and a good deal if I do say so myself. The "Oxymoron" book focuses on the villain of, "The Red Ten" as he engages in various adventures, some humorous, others gruesome. While he may be inspired by the joker what with the grin and his nemesis being an analogue of Batman, Oxymoron is unique enough that it doesn't bother me. He's a villain obsessed with contradictions enough to a point he'll even do seemingly "heroic" things such as fight zombies attacking the town because he can't stand something as oxymoronic as the "living dead".

The cool alternate cover I got via Kickstarter

Oxy is no sweetheart however, doing things in his hardcover to people that are just cruel and monstrous. Be it forcing a supposedly "selfless" man to make a horrible choice, or crashing a beauty pageant and making everyone grossly deformed, Oxymoron is a sick man. That makes it all the more interesting how in the first issue of "The Red Ten" Oxymoron apparently has killed himself after killing the hero who always stopped his exploits. Having lured the rest of the heroic group to his island however things get interesting when it becomes apparent everyone is going to be killed one-by-one. The heroes are all substitutes of sorts for other famous heroes--which is acknowledged in the first issue's afterword--but as is also pointed out, because these aren't Superman or somebody else we actually could see these characters die. Plus, the heroes that have spoken so far have enough of a personality all their own I don't mind the clear similarity to other "big name" heroes.

The dark humor of the "Oxymoron" book is enjoyable, plus the "And Then There Were None," styled retelling with superheroes in, "The Red Ten" also is proving fun. The characters in these books seem to have more personality than in, "Scam," and my only issue with these publications might be that because the "Oxymoron" book has a variety of writers and artists at times the tone and look can seem to swing from funny to scary at a jarring pace. "The Red Ten" is a bit more tonally consistent so that isn't a problem with the comic series. I would definitely recommend "The Red Ten" if you want a fun tale where the heroes may actually meet their doom (spoiler for those who never read "And Then There Were None", it doesn't end happily). If you find yourself intrigued by the character of Oxymoron then check out his book too, though it isn't necessary to get enjoyment from "The Red Ten".
Oxymoron Hardcover
3.5 out of 5 stars
The Red Ten (both issues)
4 out of 5 stars.

"The Standard" #1

Only one issue of this has come out so far (via Comixtribe, it was distributed in the UK previously) but I've enjoyed it so much this is probably the Comixtribe comic I'm most excited to read more of. It is focused on how there was a superhero named "The Standard" who retired and his protege took over. The protege revealed his identity however and now is a celebrity who does more work for his reality TV show than actually fighting serious crime. The shock ending of the first issue is what really grabbed me and made it apparent the old "Standard" is going to need to come back to hero-ing. The comic has a single artist but he alters his style to show the old-times with the Standard being fun and fluffy while in the present day things can get pretty grim and violent as that shocking ending showed. The next issue can't come soon enough!
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Conclusion: Give Them A Try
Sometimes it can be scary to try a comic by a company you haven't ever read the work of, or which features new characters. You shouldn't be afraid to try new stuff however, because you might discover a neat publisher with some snazzy books. Comixtribe's works aren't perfect, but of a great quality and very enjoyable. You should definitely give one or two of their publications a try if you want comics about powered-folk with interesting twists.