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There's a guy I met randomly and he said he would give me 1000 dollars to my paypal (he also asked if it was in the U.S. and verified to which I said yes) but I would have to send half back to him. I asked him why didn't he just send me half so I didn't have to do the work and he said because "He had to take it out all at once." Anyway, long story short he asked for my address and phone number to "make sure I won't run off with [his] money". I didn't give it to him yet because he said we would do that all tomorrow. He told me to install the application Telegram and add him on there so I did. And basically that's where I'm at right now. I am guessing this is a scam and I'd like to have fun with him. Or would it be potentially dangerous for me? For example, would I get into any legal trouble? Could he hack my paypal? Should I report him? If so, to whom?

user760783
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Don't proceed with any of this.

It sounds similar to the following scam Stranger sent me $12,100 except what's perculiar here is that you haven't mentioned why he was sending you $1000 in the first place. Was it for some work you did for him? If not then why would someone (especially a random person) send you any money at all? They wouldn't.

It's a scam, simple as.

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    ik its a scam but would I get into any trouble messing with him? – user760783 Apr 29 '20 at 14:23
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    I certainly wouldn't recommend you mess with them. The best course of action is to have no further contact with the person, and certainly don't pass on any private information like your address and so forth. You could report them to local authorities but it's unlikely to be a priority for them. –  Apr 29 '20 at 14:26
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    what about a fake address and number from google.voice phone, fake paypal accnt with 0 dollars in it, fake name – user760783 Apr 29 '20 at 14:27
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    Why? You're not going to gain anything through doing this. Don't let people like that waste your valuable time. Focus on something more positive and productive. There's plenty to enjoy in life besides dealing with scammers! –  Apr 29 '20 at 14:28
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    i get youtube content for views and ad money – user760783 Apr 29 '20 at 14:29
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    It's a scam that goes on all the time, all over the world. Look at the post I've linked to in my answer. It's hardly unique content since it's been done so many times before (unfortunately). –  Apr 29 '20 at 14:31
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Or would it be potentially dangerous for me? For example, would I get into any legal trouble?

The money they send you could be dirty/stolen. You play along "for the youtube views" and then get a visit from some nice law enforcement officers wondering why you're moving dirty money. Is that worth it?

Granted, this is worst case, but not really worth the risk or time spent. I'm sure you could come up with something more original and worth viewing than a scam that has been done tens of thousands of times.

Nosjack
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