Is this a scam? (Buyer requests about "Amazon Appstore")

[themarineiguana]

Is this a scam?

I should probably preface by saying that I haven't been on Fiverr much recently, but I still do get notifications...

... and I've run into a strange situation recently where I keep getting the same-ish request over and over again under different accounts.

The request is always the same:

The "buyer" asks me to review their Android games on the Amazon Appstore for some amount of compensation, and they say they will cover the cost upfront.

All of my 🚨 scam senses 🚨 are tingling.

My question is, does anyone know anything about this? If my suspicions are correct... my question is: how does the scam work? My current theories are that:

1. Scammer makes an excuse after some amount of time into the process that they can't cover the cost at the front end, and try to convince you to do it at the back end... at which point, seller gets ghosted and has downloaded 10 paid apps.
2. That there are tricky-to-avoid in-app microtransactions 📱 that they use to generate enough revenue to offset any costs of covering the app downloads at the front end.

I suppose it's possible it's just a way to increase their SEO ranking 📈 on Amazon, but something tells me that dropping 59.90 for ten games PER each person they're soliciting can't possibly be sustainable, and I've got a feeling there must be some other angle...

Does anyone know the specifics of how this (probable) scam works? Legitimately curious.

(Note: I've received these kinds of messages, like... three times so far. I managed to find two of the messages in my inbox, where I've blurred out the usernames below.)

Edited May 23 by themarineiguana

[michmikaia]

29 minutes ago, themarineiguana said:

Is this a scam?

I should probably preface by saying that I haven't been on Fiverr much recently, but I still do get notifications...

... and I've run into a strange situation recently where I keep getting the same-ish request over and over again under different accounts.

The request is always the same:

The "buyer" asks me to review their Android games on the Amazon Appstore for some amount of compensation, and they say they will cover the cost upfront.

All of my 🚨 scam senses 🚨 are tingling.

My question is, does anyone know anything about this? If my suspicions are correct... my question is: how does the scam work? My current theories are that:

1. Scammer makes an excuse after some amount of time into the process that they can't cover the cost at the front end, and try to convince you to do it at the back end... at which point, seller gets ghosted and has downloaded 10 paid apps.
2. That there are tricky-to-avoid in-app microtransactions 📱 that they use to generate enough revenue to offset any costs of covering the app downloads at the front end.

I suppose it's possible it's just a way to increase their SEO ranking 📈 on Amazon, but something tells me that dropping 59.90 for ten games PER each person they're soliciting can't possibly be sustainable, and I've got a feeling there must be some other angle...

Does anyone know the specifics of how this (probable) scam works? Legitimately curious.

(Note: I've received these kinds of messages, like... three times so far. I managed to find two of the messages in my inbox, where I've blurred out the usernames below.)

Hi there.

It seems like a scam. As you said that you got similar messages before, then it's scam. Report it.

Personally, if someone asks me to do something that is not related to any of my gigs, I will just pass it.

[moikchap]

If I had to bet, I would bet it's a scam.

That said, this is basically how Swagbucks works, and in the mobile games industry people are literally this desperate for user acquisition that they pay these prices. Swagbucks games use a variety of tactics that fit with your #2 theory.  

There is also a theory #3; money laundering. These accounts may have received like Visa gift cards in an illicit manner such as from phone scams, and rather than spending them in their own possession such that the proceeds can be confiscated, they spend the money on this so they then have "legitimate" money from the games which causes it to be harder to prove as funds from criminal enterprise.