$35 PS3 site is (obviously) too good to be true

by Andrew Yoon { Sep 17th 2008 at 4:15PM }

For some reason, some people are quick to fall into deals that are simply too good to be true. PS3 owners were recently hit by a weak "Home Beta Injector" scam, which attempted to steal PSN information from hapless victims. Another scheme has been investigated by the LA Times: a ring of sites that are offering PS3s for cheap. How cheap? How's $35?

Of course that's too good to be true, you must be thinking. However, the site's managed to snag the credit cards of a few victims already. "I was tricked," the ironically named hatesbeingrippedoff wrote on a forum on 419Legal.org. "This is a total fraud and I hope we can get a class action lawsuit." "Although it's just $35, that doesn't mean he's not going to use all the credit card information he's acquired so far for his dirty little self," wrote a user posting under the name NessaLee.

The scam promises a refurbished PS3 system for only $35, a savings of over $300. How does such a shady site pull off such a great deal? "We get paid through our network of sponsors for every survey you fill out. This gives us the purchasing power necessary to pass these large discounts on to you." Yeah, sure thing.

[Via PlayStation Forums]

Tags: la-times, ps3, scam

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

kevin @ Sep 17th 2008 4:18PM

seriously you have to be really dumb to fall for this kind of scheme

Nathan @ Sep 17th 2008 8:08PM

I had one of my friends fall for this site. Let's just say I have thoroughly enjoyed making fun of him.

"So are you getting Force Unleashed for PS3?...oh, that's right, you don't have one :)"

*facepalm for still being friends with him*

Jeff @ Sep 17th 2008 4:18PM

Some people just shouldn't be allowed on the internet.

Ricky @ Sep 17th 2008 4:22PM

There's nothing ironic about having a username "hatesbeingrippedoff" and being ripped off.

Bob @ Sep 17th 2008 4:53PM

Exactly, it would only be ironic if the name was "Iwork4Enron" or something.

Robert Milton @ Sep 17th 2008 4:26PM

Um, the details state that it includes a "power brick"! out of all the many SKU's that have come out, i have yet to see one that required a power brick! & it also states it has an "HD AV Cable", Everyone knows the PS3 is made for the HD Generation, but does not include the basic cables to hook up to a good HDTV! (funny stuff!)

TheFury9898 @ Sep 17th 2008 4:34PM

come on... who would fall for that??? even in the description u can tell its fake.... a power supply/power brick??? hahaha ps3 doesn't have one of those!!

proog @ Sep 17th 2008 4:49PM

How come people fall for stuff like this? Is it just pure stupidity? It's a shame that the law has to deal with all the morons who fall for these kinds of completely obvious scams. Cut off their Internet connection and remove their credit cards, because they are apparently too stupid to have them.

devdevi85 @ Sep 17th 2008 4:46PM

This is absolutely ridiculous.....if this person fell for this, what else has he/she fallen for in the past? How is this the first time this person has gotten screwed? Either way, it's hard to feel sorry for him/her, but sites such as that should never be allowed on the Commercial Internet (.com).

The1stMJC @ Sep 17th 2008 4:51PM

Just like I said with the HOME scam, anyone dumb enough to fall for this deserves what's coming

Kspraydad @ Sep 17th 2008 4:54PM

PS3 scammer or ABCP scammers...not sure which is worse really.

Tez (PSN: Tezasaurus) @ Sep 17th 2008 4:54PM

Seriously, how do you fall for this nonsense?

Jnas @ Sep 17th 2008 5:00PM

AWEESOME!

THANKS PS3FANBOY FOR LETTING US KNOW ABOUT THIS WICKED DEAL!!!

I'm gonna order one as soon as i finish this post.

WHOOOOO!

Devin @ Sep 17th 2008 6:02PM

In for 3....

Gambit07 @ Sep 17th 2008 5:19PM

Oh shit! I just ordered a bakers dozen from that site!

Adam @ Sep 17th 2008 5:41PM

Also, it says it has a 40gb hard drive, yet the PS3 shown has the chrome trim, which the 40gb PS3 does not have.

Seminole @ Sep 18th 2008 8:55AM

Wrong! The 40GB PS3 DOES have chrome trim on it. Only the 20GB does not.

Adam @ Sep 18th 2008 12:33PM

No it doesn't: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#Retail_configurations

Seminole @ Oct 10th 2008 5:48PM

Just check out the actual box Adam:

http://www.vgblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/18/40GB%20PS3-SpiderMan%20Box.jpg

CJLopez @ Sep 17th 2008 6:00PM

Man, i'm gonna do a scamm and claim I have millions of wii's in stock!!!

And 'll offer it with 2 extra wiimotes and nunchuks, homebrew ready and sell it for $20. lets see how many credit card I can snap. Later i'll post a list with all of them so we can buy more ps3 games!!!!!

georgel @ Sep 17th 2008 6:27PM

Are you people seriously when you ask who is dumb enough to fall for this? Have you not worked with the public in your life? How did bush get elected not once but twice! How is mccain tied with obama after the shape our economy and country is in? How do stupid shows like deal or no deal exist and are so popular? How do people drive cars through the front of a store because they were in drive instead of reverse? I could go on a on but you get the point.

LeaveMeAlone9375 @ Sep 17th 2008 7:58PM

I remember they even had a site for Refubished Xbox 360's for the same price. The style of the site looked the same too. Maybe all this talk about a required power brick was there since it was probably copied and pasted from site to site.

RemzRR @ Sep 18th 2008 12:11AM

Hard to feel sorry for this person
1.)the normal person who isn't familiar with the PS3 and all the different SKU's and differences. They should have realized that $400-500 system dropped to $35 is a problem. When a deal is too good to be true u usually ask for someone else's opinion which usually with some smart friends will stop u from making stupid decisions.
2.)The person who plays videogames regularly and is up on this website even before this scam was posted would have know it was a scam simply by looking at the header or just reading into if it got that far