it started when the phone rang.
Bon Bon (or Special Agent Sweetie Drops, but most ponies didn't know that) closed the folder of super secret documents that she had been flipping through. She grimaced and picked up another folder of equally secret documents. So far nothing that revealed the source of an increase of magical hornets in one subsection of Baltimare. But they were close. She could feel it.
Her day continued when the phone rang.
Right.
She put the folder down, adjusted her super cool sunglasses, and picked up the headset. "Six-one-one-four."
Now, the other pony was supposed to say two-nine-nine-eight to show that they were part of her super-secret organization and had something to tell her. Instead...
"Hello, this is Legit Collector from the Equestrian Revenue Service. I am calling to inform you that you are under investigation for tax evasion. If you do not...
Bon Bon's eyes narrowed and she walked over to a pair of ponies all sitting at computers, typing away at whatever super secret things had been assigned to them. She waved to get their attention and pointed to the phone, pulling the mouthpiece of the headset away for a moment.
"Scammer," she whispered.
The tech team grinned and one of them opened up a new program on her computer, while another one stood up and put a small device on the headset. Bon Bon nodded and readjusted the headset.
"Just keep him on the line for a few minutes," the tech pony at the computer said, typing away quickly.
"Definitely." Bon Bon cracked her neck and went back to paying attention to the scammer.
"--passports and other assets we may use to help pay off your debt."
"Oh, uh, that sounds kind of serious," Bon Bon said, taking a seat next to the computer tech. "So I think I should have the bits on hoof to pay that off. How much was it again?"
"It was four thousand, nine hundred and fifty-two bits and ninety nine cents. You say you have that amount on hoof?"
"I think so," Bon Bon replied.
"Just a little longer," the tech muttered. "He's bouncing his signal through a lot of places from Baltimare to Canterlot. He's even bounced it off of the one tower in Yakyakistan."
"Well, what do you want me to do, then?" Bon Bon asked the scammer. "Should I leave a bag of bits outside of my door to be collected, or can I Just go to the ERS offices on 165 West Celestial Street in Canterlot?"
""Oh, uh... n-no, we don't usually need you to do that. It would take a lot of bits and be a little unwieldy."
Bon Bon frowned and tilted her head. "If I'm doing the math right, and I was paying in hundred bit coins, which I would be, then I'd need about forty-nine coins. That's not terribly ridiculous. Besides, the ERS is a government agency. Why do you care how many bits there are, as long as I get a receipt for them to show that I actually paid, of course. I can be on the next train to Canterlot once I stop at my bank. It's not like I'm going to mail that many bits."
"Just a little longer..." The tech pony poked her tongue out the side of her mouth, her hooves almost a blur from the speed of her typing.
"Also, should I give them directly to you, Legit?" Bon Bon asked. "We're the ones who've had this conversation and all, and I'm sure that you're supposed to file paperwork stating that we've talked. So--"
"Oh shit, you're tracing this? Fuck you! You'll never find me!"
*Slam*
Bon Bon groaned and slid the headset off. "Did you get him?"
The tech grumbled to herself and thunked her head on her desk. "So... close. Probably just another five seconds or so. I've traced his general location, though."
"Oh?" Bon Bon stood up and put the headset back on the receiver. "Where?"
"Ponyville."
"Of course."
Giggle
Quit while you're behind, Legit. This road leads only to sorrow. For you. For us, it leads to further entertainment.
Lol... I can't help but wonder if this has ever happened in real life
Ponyville. The place where most of your rather grumbly victims live. And Pinkie already knows.
Would you like a 'you're doomed' cupcake, Legit?
Watch as it is Spike doing this! Just cause it's the one option not suspected (oops) and it would be a pretty gnarly twist.
Yeah, this is getting exciting!
hippostcard.com/uploads/a114b7f67f05841233ed0d249fb22d5d.jpg
...WAIT, I think I found out who legit is!
derpicdn.net/img/2014/10/8/738842/full.png obviously
This suddenly got interesting.
I half expect BonBon to sit back down on her table, and see, right there, half a cupcake, with the note.
Totally.
Ooh, an actual plot thread! I can't wait to see where this goes.
9242953
I object to the notion that Legit is Waldo!
His beautiful Wife Carmen would never let him stoop so low as to perform an ERS scam!
Yup it's Discord. Poor fool he pissed off the wrong mare now.
9242921
Yup it has. The scammers have called police officers at their desks and boy are some of the responses when the scammers find out sound priceless. I bet the once who try this on CIA and FBI agents are even more epic, shame we probably will never see those.
The scammer is... Caramel! Because no one remembers him anyway!
oboes and strange sad malnourishment, this story is going somewhere!
9242980
WHAT IF SHE IS IN ON IT TOO!!!!! CONSPIRACY!!!!!!!!!!
9243005
I don't think it's Discord, and I shall list reasons as to why I think so;
- nuisance phone calls and yelling at ponies isn't chaotic/doesn't cause chaos.
- Fluttershy probably would have had him pinned from the word when she was called, never mind the scolding he'd get if/when found out.
- actually, forget just Shy, all of the mane 6.
- that's all I can think of for now
- help! I'm stuck in a list and can't get out!
I’ve noticed the more people call him on his bullshit, the more of an asshole he becomes. He should really just throw in the towel
He's getting better at hiding his trail, but he's still pretty stupid for trying this crap anyway.
9243136
He's a scammer. They're all too fucking stupid to know when to quit. Real life and in Equestria apparently.
I never have, and never will, like SMILE.
I wonder who Legit REALLY is! Is he even really one person?
9243013
heck, it's hilarious when I get them, cause I actually do work for the IRS. Oh I have fun with these scammers. One time, during that period they kept demanding payment in apple gift cards, I had a used gift card i got and had already redeemed. I led this idiot on a one hour conversation, actually driving over to a local cvs, walking in, and getting a clerk (it wasn't busy at all, so no issue) to play along I actually was buying one new. when I finally gave him the used card's numbers, i heard him cursing me out. I suggested he heard me wrong, and got him to retry it 3 times. Finally, all I said was. 'now explain to your boss how you spent an hour on this and didn't get a dime.' He stayed silent for a few moments before hanging up.
9242980
Ah but what if Legit is their kid after all, who could be harder to find than the Kid of Waldo and Carmen...
And it keeps on going! Glad to see an incomplete tab instead of complete. Now I'm tracking this for sure
9243430
Well, yeah. Obviously my comment is moot now, because he obviously was heard from afterwards.
I feel this will end with them asking Pinkie where he is. We all know she knows.
9242939
Not only Pinkie. Twilight might know also, because that computer attack could have not only destroy his/her personal data and computer, but maybe trace down the physical location as well. To top it off, knowing Twilight, she could have already sent a "Friendship Report" to Dear Princess Celestia. The Equestrian Intelligence Agency already knows the general location.
And last but not least, Pinkie can tell everypony, I mean literally EVERYPONY anytime that she knows. And that's a lot of ponies.
But I do hope that they leave him go further and deeper for educational purpose (for ponies) and amusement (for bronies).
I feel bad for the scammer now, he's completely and absolutely bucked.
9243039
Who?
9243305
That is brilliant.
If anyone has not seen some of the scam-baiters over on Youtube, they are worth watching. Here are three that I know of:
Kitboga
Leo Takacs/Scam Baiting
Jim Browning
9243234
Why?
Working in Ponyville's actually clever in an idiotic way. Who'd expect him to be in the same town as most of his victims?
... I have no idea why, but Button Mash is coming to mind as the scammer...
That'd be funny, lol
9246769
Dont forget James Veitch.
This is why I always follow the story. No Exceptions.
At this point the real mystery isn't who the scammer is. It's who sold him his equipment - and what grudge they have against him.
9246769
I've even heard of a service that wastes scammer's time by giving them a taste of their own medicine. it essentially lets you hand off a scam call to a robot that will provide voice responses, it'll never agree to anything, and for snark and giggles, you can get a recording of the call as well. they have several recordings on their site showing the bots in action. it's hilarious.
well, that's a perfect lead for SMILE; all they have to do is ask Pinkie Pie for the name of the scammer and they're set!