Seduction, Scams, and Success: Real Estate "Guru" Exposed

Dive into this gripping episode of "Hood Winked: Surviving the Scam" with host Rita Owens, as she unfolds a story that's as captivating as it is cautionary. Guest Tamaris Massengale shares a startling story on how she was scammed and deceived by a smooth-talking Online Real Estate Guru who offered tantalizing promises that threatened to destroy her business dreams.

Rita and Tamaris dissect the scammer's seductive strategies, offering an insider's look at the deceptive practices that even seasoned entrepreneurs can fall prey to. More than just a story of deceit, this episode is a roadmap to resilience, brimming with actionable insights to help you shield your business from the dark arts of scam artists.

Lock in for a session of real talk and real strategies. You'll walk away equipped to defend your dreams and secure your success against the alluring dangers of con artists. Don't miss this blend of harrowing experiences and hard-earned wisdom.

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Transcript

0:53

Hey, biz besties. You're tuned in to Hoodwinks Surviving the Scam, the podcast that's all about turning scams into success. I'm your host, Rita Owens, and I've been exactly where you are, deceived, betrayed, but never defeated. You know what hood like mentality is. Right? That street smart, relentless hustle that some have misused to trick us? Well, this podcast is dedicated to those who've been deceived but refused to be broken. Each week, we'll spotlight entrepreneurs who've been scammed but bounced back even stronger. We'll expose the scams, reveal their impact, and arm you with the knowledge to rebuild. We're not just surviving scams. We're thriving beyond them. So if you're ready to turn your setbacks into comebacks, then let's dive in. Alright. Hey, Bestie. Welcome back to another episode of Hood Weight Surviving the Scam. I'm your host, Rita Owens, and today, I'm so excited to welcome my guest, Tameris Massagilt to the show. She is incredible. I've known her now for a couple of years, and I'm just, like, really excited to have her on the show today. So first of all, Tameris, I'd love for you to go ahead and just Introduce yourself to the biz besties who are listening today. Thank you for such a beautiful introduction. I appreciate this Opportunity to come on your platform, and I don't take it lightly that you entrust me to speak to your Besties, which you hold near and dear to your heart, congrats to you for being absolutely transparent in creating this platform, which is Not easy, but very, very important. A little bit about me, my name is Tamara Masagil, and I am the owner of TM Consultants, and I am a small business specialist with an emphasis on pursuing government contracting. So that means anything from starting a new business to getting your business certified as a minority or woman owned business. And everything in between, I assist you with obtaining that. Here recently, I began my career in transportation. I have fallen in love with trucking. So all things trucking Client management, starting your, obtaining your authority, dispatching. I'm also I'm in that space as Well, I'm originally from California, a proud mother of 3 grown beautiful children, and I am very passionate about this space entrepreneurship because with the right tools, you can really benefit not only in your immediate family, but generations to comp as well as your community if you've done it right, and Rita does an amazing job for showing you how to do that. Thank you so much. Absolutely. Prior to this call, we were kinda discussing a little bit about our experiences and being in situations where Even if you feel really prepared in your business or just as a person in general, you're not exempt from being scammed or taking advantage of. And so right now, I wanna open up the floor for her to share with us her experience with being Scam. So, Tameres, I'm gonna ask you this. Can you share with us the behind the scenes of what happened in your scam story? I hope you guys got you a nice little cup of something this Friday because I'm going all the way in. Get get comfy. Cheers. Put the kids away. Put the do not disturb because we are going all the way in. Alright. Y'all heard it. Too. That's that's quite alright. Our biz besties, See, we want the real. This is all about true, real, raw stories, and I know that you're gonna give it to us, Tamara. So let's go. My experience Started about two and a half years ago, I wanna say, with a gentleman that, of course, we're not naming any names, but this individual I met At one event with a mentor, a individual that we'll call him Shoes. And at this event, I met this other guy that I was eager to learn about real estate and everything that came in came with it, and I'm very, very big on trying to support black owned businesses and, people of leadership that look like me Because I believe that there are good people in the world, and we have to make our own way. That being stated, this person Was a speaker and had been traveling the world, and, of course, I thought I was doing my due diligence with Researching this individual and then finding out if they were legit or not. But one thing I wanna throw out their reader, really early is don't be led astray by the Glitz and glam. So you can dump a whole lot of money into social media to create an environment, and that's the whole purpose of this existence. It's To create a process of reality for most people. So with that being stated, this person were very good with networking, A brilliant a brilliant speaker who was a salesperson, and because of where I met this person, I was led to believe he was authentic. A red flag which, in retrospect, should have been a sign was this person was very flirtatious. He was forgetting the whole purpose of us, While we were even each other's presence, he was more interested in me personally. This was my first time having a large sum of money, And, you know, I'm the 1st entrepreneur in my family, so I wanted to make sure that I didn't go back to that other lifestyle. So I was just eager to learn about money and the tools that I can obtain from investing in different ventures. I was illiterate when it came to being financially stable. So long story short, this person said, hey. I'll show you how to to invest in this business Through wholesaling, and I'll even show you how to automate the whole process. So I'm like, that that's that's awesome. I don't even really have to Hands on. Mhmm. And he was like, no. You know, you can just, you know, you'll invest in my my call center. They'll pull the sheets. They'll make the calls, and all you have to do is just basically sit back and get the money. Another red flag. Another red flag. We are on entrepreneurship. There's no such thing as, pathway or residual income. You gotta put some work in At least for the 1st 5 years, you gotta put in the work because you're learning the kinks. You're learning the systems. You're learning the nature of the beast. There's no such thing as you just dumping a whole lot of money with 1 person, and now you're a overnight billionaire. Like, come on. If that was the case, we would all be rich. Right. Absolutely. And let me just interrupt you just for a second, Tamaris, because, a couple of the things that you mentioned that were red flags, and I see this a lot when I'm listening when I'm listening to the stories of our viewers. I I hear this a lot, which is number 1, Right? There is that glitz in the glam of the social media. Right? And a lot of times, that's something that attracts Those potential clients to them. And once you see that already, you've in your head, you're already convinced that this Person is who they say that they are. But one of the things that you did that you mentioned was that you went ahead and you did the research on this person, and that's something that's really important because I think a lot of times, people aren't taking the time to do their due diligence and doing The research, can you share with our viewers and our listeners what were some of the things that you did in terms of research? Well, first of all, of course, I vetted him through the original person, shoes. I asked about their relationship, how long this person had been in the works, And then, of course, they gave him a a Raven Star. Unbeknownst to me, they were basically in cahoots with one another. Mhmm. The other thing, I asked vetting questions to see if this person was knowledgeable about this industry. But prior to me meeting this person, I already was interested in real estate, So I'd already had been doing some research, Google, YouTube, you know, talking to people that were in my family that are in real estate. So I I I was knowledgeable of the industry, and I had already done my own legwork as far as what it looked like. So when I asked These vetting questions based off of my own research, I was comfortable in believing he was a subject matter expert, if that makes That makes absolute sense. And and I also have to say, right, because there's so many things, so many gems And what you just said, one of the things that I wanna point out as well is that you mentioned that with Shoes, which I love that that's the name that you've given this character, Shoes. It's actually hilarious. Just because I know what you're talking about. But, With this particular person, this person was in cahoots. Right? And that happens, you guys. So Listeners out there, be aware that sometimes the person who is scamming you also has a circle, an inner circle of others who are in on it. And so even though you think that you might be, you know, talking to someone who is just not at all a part of what's going on, They may be getting some sort of a kickback, and that happens a lot, especially in our industry, in the financial services industry. There's a lot of that happening, so I'm so happy that you mentioned that because it is so important to find somebody that is neutral. Mhmm. And it's so important to even go back to and I know sometimes people think this is old school, but just going back and doing a background check. Right? Like, before you get a job, what do they do? A background check on you. There's so many different, places now that you can run background checks online. Yep. A lot of people don't take that extra additional step, but trust me, it's something that can save you 100, if not 1,000 of dollars Right. Just by doing that. And as an entrepreneur, you're going to make investment. Investments mean you're gonna put money out there that you're not gonna get back, but it's worth it To prevent you from being in a situation where you have to be on the a podcast like this because you got got. Right. And those and those costs are important when you're creating a business plan. You have to be able to Predict what those costs are gonna be and set that money aside. It's important so that you can do things like Do a background on a business. Do a search on the person, the individual themselves. Even though you're doing business, You still wanna double check the character of the individual running that business because they're making the the decision. So I just wanted to throw that Real quick. That's so valuable and and so true. Again, you know, so grateful to be able to have this conversation with you because We are going into scamming season. Right? We're going into the holiday season right now. Right now, as this is being recorded, it is November And the scammers come out during the holidays. I mean, they're out all year round, but especially during the holiday season. So, Tavares, going back to your 1st interactions with this person. You mentioned that there were some red flags, like this person being flirtatious, Which, again, you guys, my my listeners out there, that is definitely a red flag. Someone that you're doing business with should be focused on Business and the task at hand. Tell me about when you realized, when it sunk in for you, that you were being scammed by this person. Sadly to say, it was several months down the line, and this person was just really good with manipulating the so called encounters. So we would have a scheduled meeting for an hour where I should have been training, and 45 minutes of it was in flirting or I I was never given any, like, documentation. There was no contract. There was no study portal for For information, I wind up feeling like I paid for a friendship because that's what it turned into. Our conversations and our interactions wind up being more personal Then business. So it was several months down the way, and then there was all it's an excuse. Oh, my mom is sick or, my dad was sick or I got sick. Like, I'm paying for these virtual assistants. I'm paying for this system every month on time, but I'm never getting a freaking lead ever. I'm never getting any hit. It was never Follow-up, and then the other side of me well, I call her Tammy. Tammy is not very nice. Tammy showed up, And the conversation got heated, and then it just got to the point where it was like, you you really got me. And then this person was Traveling through, Cuba, I think it was, and I started to know that that he was really heavily into the Airbnb. And then all of a sudden, it got Quiet. So I'm like, that's when they really hit. Oh, this blankety blank and took your money and moved out the country. Yeah. Wow. That is Crazy. It was all at the same time that shoes was getting exposed for what he was doing. So, Remember, they're in cahoots. He knows that shoes is getting, you know, brought down, so it's like, let me, you know, create my exit. Exactly. That is So crazy, Tamara, but it's not it's not unusual. It's something that I I've seen as well, you know, with With these especially these online guru slash scammers, you know, just completely leaving the country and not having to deal You got that feeling that you were being scammed based on the fact that The things that you had discussed you were supposed to get, you weren't getting them and there were a lot of excuses being made. A lot of those being personal Excuses being made about why things weren't being delivered. And so I just wanna point out to the listeners that it is so important To make sure that whenever you are doing business with anyone or another company, that you have a solid contract, right, and that you also have a statement of work. You have, like, a statement of work that tells you what is supposed to be delivered to you and then also what is the time frame so that you both are on the same page as to when things are supposed to be delivered and then what happens if they're not. Because a lot of times, When we're doing business, it's as simple as go to my website, click this button, make your payment, and now we're in business together. There's no contracts. It's all based on trust factor. And then when it comes down to it, it's so hard to get your money back when it comes to that. So you mentioned that you started to notice that this person was traveling out of the country, Setting himself up for the exit, what were your next steps after you realized that you had been scammed? How did you try to resolve that? Actually, you know, I had you know, I was very I'm very thankful that I had you in my corner. It was just unfortunate that I did not act immediately, and so my window of opportunity to try to regain Monies that was lost, it it closed on me. So, I mean, you had given me some very good advice as to how I could've pursued it. Another major red flag, this person on top of not providing a contract or Any type of accountability clause or anything of that nature, this person required me to send the money via wire. So when you wire the funds, it's darn near it's equivalent to putting the cash in your hand. So it's darn near impossible to regain it. Had I known that before I did the transaction, I would've done it on a credit card or a bill or something something where I could've been in control of Whatever whatever third party financial institution you can use that will leave you in control of that transaction, I highly recommend you invest in it. Never do cash to hand. Never do a wire. Never do anything where you're leaving it in their hands in hopes that they'll deliver it. Make sure that it's something that you can have something tangible in your hand to say, this is what I paid for. This is when I paid it, And this is when they were supposed to do it. And if they did not, then you have a leg to stand on. And always verify the business. Do a city, state search or make sure you verify the individual. Have something that they can't disappear in you. That's where I messed up at. I didn't verify this person, and I didn't know how to until after the fact. This is such great information, Tamaris, because a lot of people don't know and they don't think that far in advance to protecting themselves. Right? Like just something as simple as going to the secretary of state website and just making sure that That business is active and they're legit. Because one of the things that you mentioned as far as, you know, making sure that you have a way to, You know, track that money or be able to have a a leg to stand on, really, if if those things aren't delivered to you. I know that there's some business owners That, you know, they do require something like a wire, but that's also why those contracts are important as well. If you've got to pay cash for something, If you've got to send a wire because that's what's required, make sure that you've done all the things that Tamaris has just told you. So in the event That if you have to take legal action and sue this company or this individual, you know where to find them. You have all your written documentation so that you can go after them and you get a receipt. Okay. You've got to have some type of Documentation to show how much you paid, what it was for exactly, and that this person actually received it. Because if you don't, then you're just SOL. It's like sending money to a friend. Now we know that we can't avoid being scammed. We can do our best. Right? But as we were talking about when it comes to those scammers, like, this is what they do. They do this for a living, and they're pretty damn good at it. Right? So it's one of those things that even if you're the smartest person in the room, that scammer can still outsmart you and still get away with your coins. So we've gotta make sure we protect ourselves. I know that you mentioned that you realize that, you know, I I don't think that I'm gonna be able to get my money back. Did you reach out to this individual, and did you ask for your money back? By this time, all communication was cut off. So To answer your question, no. There is there is no way to reach this person. I don't know if they're actually in state. I don't know if they left. I I have no way of knowing. And to, speak to your statement about my resilience, there was 1 individual that was a victim of his Where her child literally almost lost his life, and in the interim, this person was supposed to be helping her. As a result, she wound up losing everything. Sadly to say that experiencing it, witnessing her firsthand going through that is what gave me the motivation to keep going so that I could be in a position where I am now. Not to say everything is back normal. It's not. Not by Any shape, way, or form has my life reset completely, but it gave me the fight to be able to use my experiences to get myself back to a better Positioning I was before so I too can be a part of this movement that people like yourself has created To stand up to these individuals and hopefully create a big enough buzz that we can have official step in to to protect Innocent individuals like ourselves. With it with that being stated, we also have a responsibility to make sure we do our due diligence. The idea that someone is gonna give you all of the gain that put them in a place of financial stability is unrealistic. And we can give you all of the warning signs, but you also have to make sure that you're doing your due diligence. And it starts with building Slowly. Your your responsibility is to invest in a mentor that can at least put you on the right path. But even on that path, It is your responsibility to research what they're telling you. You're trying to buy a apple farm, and he's telling you everything to grow grapes. Come on now. It's not the same. And I agree. And I think that sometimes people are so desperate to want to be successful, that even if they are being told something that they you know, their gut is telling them this isn't right, They still desperately want it to work out. Right? They still want it to be right because either they're so far into it, like, whether it be with Time that they've invested or the money that they've invested, that they're not willing to walk away from it even though they see those red flags, or they've seen what the other person has allegedly accomplished and they're just trying to hang on to their heels so that maybe They'll accomplish those same things, but what I think is really important is, you know, really looking into your community with these organizations who are established That will help you. You know, there there are places where you don't have to spend 1,000 or tens of 1,000 of dollars just to learn the basics about business. Like you said, that business plan, that is the road map to your success. If you think that you're going to start or scale a successful business without Any sort of plan, that is a recipe for disaster and you will end up in this seat talking about how You were scammed. Tamaris, I want you to give our listeners a little bit of hope. What would you say to somebody who's out there that's listening right now that Has either been scammed, who is being scammed, or is just trying to get past the whole idea of being scammed. What what type of advice or or words would you have for them? Donald Trump. Look past the fact that as a individual, Your personal feeling for Valiant as an individual and look at the steps he took from becoming a multimillionaire, A billionaire. I think he's a billionaire now, allegedly. Right? This is the individual that failed in public's eyes more than he succeeded. And he learned every failure. He learned from it. He didn't sit there and wallow in it. He didn't worry about what the world had to say about him. He learned from those mistakes and kept going. That's life in general. Forget being an entrepreneur. That's just life in general. You have a choice. There's always 2 roads, left or the right. You can choose to sit there and wallow in it, or you can say, damn. Alright. Shake it off. Let me try again. You know? It it's a choice. Coming from where I come from, my both my parents were addicts. I was homeless. I went through a very rough time as a young kid, I raised my sisters. It was a lot that came with my starting. But instead of letting that be my excuse to be a failure, I let that be my used to continue to move forward. I don't care what nobody says about Tamaris. I'm in love with her. I know what I can do as long as I keep moving forward. I I am a Christian. I love the Lord, and I believe that if if it was so easy to To get to that level that we're striving to get everybody be there. It's not meant to be easy because everyone doesn't have the best intentions. God didn't allow You and I had to go through what we went through for us to be like, dang. That's messed up. You know? No. He didn't go through it because first of all, he knew what he put in He knew that we were resilient. He knew that we were warriors. He knew that we wasn't gonna sit back and take it and just and just give up on life. He knew not only where we're gonna come back, but we're gonna come back with a fight, and we're gonna do our best to prevent others from going through it as well. Tavares, I mean, you just showed up and showed out. You left it all on the table. So many gems. Like, I am just sitting here right now just Still processing all of the things that you've shared with us today and, what makes me happy is to see you still out there thriving, and you have a message to share. Just like, you know, everyone who has been scammed, you have a message to share, whether that's Preventing someone else from having to go through what you went through or just learning, you know, within yourself, like, what it is that you need to do in order to protect yourself. Yeah. One of the most important things and one of the reasons why we have this platform is because it's important to Speak up and speak out when something like this has happened to you. I know a lot of times people are scared. Right? They're scared, Either the backlash or they're scared to even just admit to others that they fell victim to be scammed. Yeah. You know, and we're here we're sitting here as experienced business owners. Right? We're sitting here as experienced business owners telling you that it can happen to anyone and there is no shame in it. Right? There's no shame. Speak out. You know, speak up and and let people know. And, also, you don't have to sit back and allow the person who scammed you To get away with it either. There are different things that you can do in order to, you know, not only protect yourself, but also make yourself whole again. And with the message that Tamara just shared with us, she gave you, you know, a list of things that you can do to help prevent it, But then even after the fact, if it happens to you, you're not alone. You can go after that person legally if you've done all the things that you need to do That was shared in today's episode. Damaris, please tell our listeners, a little bit about what it is that you can help them with in their business and how they can contact you, how they can reach out to you in order to learn more about your services. Absolutely. Well, thank you again For having me on, I had a blast. Those that are interested in any additional services, they can help you with start up. If you're interested in pursuing government contracts, Not only do I help your business get certified, I assist you with understanding how to navigate the whole process, how to win your first Track how to leverage your certifications. I do grant writing as well as proposal writing for you to win those contracts. Automations and systems and scheduling and planning, I could assist with that as well. Even if you just need or to navigate you through the mindset of becoming an entrepreneur. So I can assist you with that as well. You can follow me at tm_consultant, or you can visit me at my website, wwwtamaris m k.com. You can follow me on, like I said, TikTok, tm_consultants, formerly TMK Administrative someone try to comfort me. She talking about business. She ain't it's it's a DBA. Slow your roll. Okay? Alright? Compliant. Compliance is a DDA. But, yeah, that's how you could find me. And I'll be sure to leave all of this information in our show notes as well, so that you can, You know, reach out for those of you I know some of our listeners, maybe driving or doing other things. We'll leave the information in the show notes for you to reach out To Tamaris for any of her services, definitely be sure to follow her as well. Like she mentioned to you guys, she is credible and very, very knowledgeable. Tameris, I am just so happy that you graced us with your presence today and decided to come on and Share your story. It has been insightful. It's been inspiring, and it's been an absolute honor to be able to have you on today. So for our listeners, I hope that you were able to really get some gems from today's episode. Again, you know, be Careful out there. Make sure that you are doing your due diligence to protect yourself, and until next time. See you later. Bye. So that's a wrap for this episode of Hoodwink Surviving the scam, we've peeled back the layers, exposed the fraud, and most importantly, we've learned how to bounce back stronger than ever. If you found value in today's episode, I would be so grateful if you could leave a review and share this podcast with someone who needs to hear it. Also, if you're someone who'd like to share your story, please reach out to me. I will leave the information in the show notes, because I'd love to invite you to be on the podcast in order to share your story and how you were able to grow beyond the scam. But before you go, don't forget to sign up for my Email list so that you can be the 1st to know about upcoming episodes, exclusive tips, and you'll also get access to our a community of resilient entrepreneurs just like you. Until next time. Remember, we're not just surviving scams, We're thriving beyond them. Stay savvy. Stay empowered. Signing off. This is Rita Owens. Take care,