Tracking down the PlayStation 5 has become an obsession for many as tiny morsels of stock occasionally surface at a handful of major retailers, often selling out in seconds. These restock accounts orchestrate herds of shoppers towards available units and run community groups – on Telegram or Discord – where people discuss tips and tricks for how to navigate different retailer sites to improve their chances.
Sami Mehmed runs a popular Twitter account called PS5 UK Stock Alerts, which and has gained 20,000 followers in the last three months by alerting people to available PS5 stock. If you have been on the hunt for the elusive console then you probably follow several similar accounts. Mehmed’s community has proven to be profitable for him. Since losing his job because of the pandemic, Mehmed set up this Twitter account when it became clear the new Sony console is in scarce supply.
The desperation has attracted scammers who are keen to prey on frustrated gamers and parents by promising resale consoles at reasonable prices on Twitter and Facebook. On Twitter some high-profile accounts appear to have been hijacked by PS5 scammers. UK Labour party politician Peray Ahmet had her account taken over by someone offering to sell the console. When she got her account back, Ahmet looked through the DMs and found people who appeared to have sent money to the scammers.
“There were loads, it was all just stuff like ‘have you got the PlayStation’ and ‘does that mean I’m not getting my PlayStation?..I haven’t received it’, or something like that. There were tons of messages, I literally had to go through about 50” Ahmet explained to Forbes reporter Janhoi McGregor.
Read the full profile on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaymcgregor/2021/03/02/5k-profit-ps5-goldrush-is-making-thousands-for-some/?sh=8c2bac03c018
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