Kids will try anything to get rich quick. So will adults. Our plans are a little more thought out. This kid just started taking money from strangers on eBay and the next thing he knows, he’s in deep.
When I was 13, I started selling money on ebay. As in, people would paypal me money, and I would mail them (in cash) less money than what they sent me. My original logic was that people with eBay gift cards could cash in. Within a few days I started receiving large orders, and in 3 months I mailed over $30,000 in cash.
As I said, I was 13 at the time, and I was literally riding my bike to the bank and then the post office every day, sometimes with over $500 cash in my pocket. I made a profit of almost $3,000 in those 3 months. All of a sudden, I get a notice from paypal saying that I have been permanently banned from paypal, as I violated anti-money laundering policy.
I realized, in hindsight, that I should’ve been suspicious when some guy named Pedro (no joke, the only name provided was just “Pedro”) had me mail several thousand dollars to different PO boxes in New York using different Paypal accounts.
tl;dr: i accidentally laundered $30,000 when I was 13 years old
After being bombarded with questions and comments, he clarified exactly what happened.
EDIT: So a lot of people are skeptical. First and foremost, no the FBI was not contacted because, as I was told, I violated policy by not having an anti-money laundering license. So, as far as I know, all of the trasnactions could have been completely legitimate. There was no proof that anything was illegitimate (although in hindsight some transactions look suspicious). My “crime” was not having a license, which led paypal to banning me, probably for liability reasons. Yes, if there had been dirty money tied back to me I’m sure the FBI would’ve been contacted, but as far as I know there wasn’t.
Some are questioning the whole story, calling it bullshit. One person cited that I said I was 17 in a post several hours ago. It was a typo, I fixed it. Post history shows that I have said that I’m 16 before. If you don’t want to believe me, be my guest, I’ve shared this on reddit specifically because it’s a unique story that many don’t believe.
I never moved $30k at once. It was many small transactions.
My mother was aware, but I had told her that it was for people to cash in their gift cards and nothing more and she believed it.
Oh and yes, I did work construction over the summer I turned 16, this past summer. Worked for a masonry company as a laborer for $10/hr, apparently some of you don’t believe that. I’m very motivated to make money as you can see.
Earn your money the old fashioned way, kids. Steal it from mom and dad.
[via Reddit]