Here’s What Happens When Someone Posing As A Gay Porn Star Tries to Commit Fraud Using Grindr
Gay porn star Boomer Banks has sent multiple requests to Grindr asking them to remove fake users pretending to be him (see above), but the gay hook-up app has been unable (or unwilling) to prevent scammers from registering, and then catfishing people.
More specifically: These scammers aren’t using Grindr to catfish people for sex, they’re using it to commit fraud. A Str8UpGayPorn reader has sent in the screencaps below documenting his interaction yesterday with one fake user posing as Boomer Banks. Here’s how the conversation started, which includes flirting, discussion of who will host, and then a request for a “favor.” The blue text is fake Boomer, and the yellow text is the Str8UpGayPorn reader, who has asked not to be identified.
“Viewers in my site are getting low” is, presumably, a reference to a webcam or live chat site allegedly operated by Boomer Banks. For the record, the real Boomer Banks has confirmed to Str8UpGayPorn that he did not have this conversation with this person, and the real Boomer Banks has confirmed that he’s never advertised or marketed anything to his fans, followers, or Grindr hook-ups involving a cam site.
Here is the email that the fake Boomer Banks sent to the Str8UpGayPorn reader following the Grindr exchange:
The email contains a link to a cam site called “xxxmilfpornhub.com,” where users must fill out a registration form and then enter their credit card number:
Based on the text on this join page, it’s entirely unclear what a user will be charged, or what site(s) are being joined. On the right side of the page, note the mentions of “WebCams Buffet” ($39.95), “EroticDVDsOnline” ($28.86), and “XXXHDVault” ($49.95). Once you fill out the basic registration info, a credit card field pops up:
Poking around on “xxxmilfpornhub.com,” the site states that its billing and customer service provider is a vague, Cyprus-based company called “Substab.com.” After calling Substab’s contact number, a man with a foreign accent (possibly eastern European) claimed to have no knowledge of xxxmilfpornhub.com. He suggested that a different billing company might have more information, and he gave me the phone number of an even more vague company.
The phone number the Substab rep provided (818-444-1881) points to a Canoga Park, California location, but the customer service rep who took my call there would not identify who she worked for, the name of her employer, or who I was even calling. The rep, who said her name was “Sierra,” claimed that her company was not affiliated with xxxmilfpornhub.com (“We don’t handle adult entertainment websites,” she said), but that they were in fact affiliated with Substab. When I told her that someone was attempting to commit fraud using xxxmilfpornhub.com, a site that claims to be affiliated with her company, she immediately transferred me to her supervisor, where the call went directly to voicemail.
I left a voicemail with the supervisor, “Deanna,” at the unnamed Canoga Park company and will update this post if she calls back. As of now, it’s obvious that no one wants to claim any ownership or affiliation with xxxmilfpornhub.com. The site’s whois contact info is, of course, set to private:
Same thing with Substab.com.
Set to private:
But—surprise—both Substab and xxxmilfpornhub were created and registered with the same web hosting company (Enom). On the exact same day:
It’s unclear if the criminal attempting to defraud Grindr users via xxxmilfpornhub/Substab is working directly for the Cyprus (and Canoga Park?) company, or if this person is a “lone wolf” illegally using those sites on his own to steal money from gullible porn fans. Whether working alone or as part of a larger crime ring, this is an extremely organized and well-thought-out operation, as most internet fraud cases are.
To be clear, the Str8UpGayPorn reader who wrote in assumed that he was communicating with the real Boomer Banks, and thought he was tipping me off to some embarrassing gossip about the real Boomer Banks asking for his credit card number. While that wasn’t true, it’s easy to see how someone could be misled. The fake Boomer Banks profile uses the same screen name and identifying information as the real Boomer Banks profile.
Fake profile on the left (as provided by the Str8Up reader), real profile on the right (as provided by Boomer Banks):
Long story short: Never, ever give your credit card information (or any sensitive information about yourself) to someone over the internet, no matter how “real’ they might seem.
Here’s the final Grindr exchange, where the scammer again commits felony fraud by pushing the victim to use the email he sent. “No charges,” he says.
