#$%@&*!

I Probably Just Got Scammed on the Internet

I know this comes as a shock.

This is probably where I sent my money. (Photo by Graham Meyer on Unsplash)

I give myself 50/50 odds that I’ll ever actually receive the thing I just bought on the internet.

It was only (“only”) $35, and free shipping! (That’s the first red flag — it’s a weed trimmer. It’s light, but not that light.)

Actually, the first red flag was when a PayPal notification popped up to share the delightful news that I had just sent $35 to somebody named Tuan Dinh Le and not to an entity more reassuringly called Rinetex, which is where I thought I was sending it.

Rinetex (“established 2024” — hello, red flag, we meet again) is headquartered at 7047 Strawberry Street, Englewood, FL 34224, which is…

*tap, tap, tap*

… somebody’s house. Not an office space. Not even a store front in a strip mall. It’s just a normal house.

I’m not even going to look up the deed because I can practically guarantee it’s a rental.

Now, maybe Mr. Le is an enterprising young person who’s re-selling products out of his bedroom. That’s fine. I have no problem with that.

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