Two to three weeks ago, I joined Minnow Support in the hope of earning some good bucks. For some minnows such as myself, earning additional income with little to no effort at all is a huge blessing, especially when you needed it the most.
My Goal
My goal was to earn $1500 to pay for my grandfather's hospital bills. I am already buried deep in debt, especially now that I have too many loans. If I don't earn that amount in time, me and my grandfather will be homeless in no time. I don't want him to experience it especially now in his old age and condition. And that was when I decided to look for ways to earn faster here on Steemit. I was desperate.
Minnow Support
When I learned about @minnowsupport, and its bot which gives anywhere around 0.50 SBD to 1.5 SBD per upvote, an idea hit me quickly. What if I can create several accounts, create many posts a day, and upvote it all at the same time? Then it is possible to reach my goal in time.
The Blueprint
My goal is to reach $1500 for my grandfather's hospital bill. That's it. That's all I ever wanted. I was desperate.
So here's what I did: I registered several Steemit accounts (@hundreddays, @nobrainer, @brainer, @bloodless, @krustykrab, @spongeb0b, @squidward, @tinmendes, @patriciangela, @patrickangelo, @ptcuber, @sanman) and created more Discord accounts. For every Steemit account, I registered it in Minnow Support in Discord at around 5-7 times each. I thought it wouldn't be possible. I thought only one Steemit account is allowed per registration, but I was wrong. And it made my heart beat faster. I was excited to finally earn some good earnings.
For the first seven days, I wake up early, post 6 memes, and upvote it all with my discord accounts before I head to work. At evening, I post another 6 memes, upvote it again (as you can only upvote every 12 hours) before I go to sleep.
After the first seven days, that was when I started to cash out some earnings. I get around 35 SBD a day which is equal to what I earn in my day job. This made my motivation even greater. At this point, I knew that the system will be abused, but I have to do it to pay for the hospital bills and avoid being homeless. So I continued to do it. I told myself that as soon as I was able to complete my goal, I'm gonna end this madness for sure.
I was able to pay a partial amount of the bills from all the loans that I took, from my day job, from my part time job, and from Minnow Support. Now I'm down to $1100 worth of debt.
I also started selling some home made perfumes to my co-workers to help increase my earnings.
The Early Dilemma
I thought everything was going well. I can see the clear path towards paying my grandfather's hospital bill. But I was wrong again. Minnow Support's upvote dropped to 0.40 SBD. At this rate, I was only earning around 9 SBD per day. As soon as I found out about it, I quickly applied for a part-time job I can do after my day job. I needed it badly. There are days when I don't eat a decent meal. I work during my lunch break so I can leave work earlier to go to my next job. There was even a day when I was forced to walk to and from work. I had to use my transportation allowance to buy some medicine. My life was in complete chaos. I can't think of any other situation worse than this.
The Last Post
Just as I thought that it can't get any worse, I was wrong for the third time. As I was about to post some memes, I noticed that @aggroed commented on all of my latest posts. I knew that it was the end of the line for me. I knew that I won't be able to earn what I needed on time. I knew that it was the end.I abused the Palnet community. I was wrong. I had some deep realizations.
There are three thousand minnows relying on the community. And just like that, I robbed them all for a total amount of 381.0161 SBD from the community's resources. I never felt more ashamed of myself.
Before I sent @aggroed a message. I thought he was going to punish me badly for what I did. I was ready to accept the punishment. I was ready to leave Steemit for the good guys out there who gives their best to post good content. But for the fifth and final time, I was wrong.
I was wrong for a good reason.He understood me. He taught me a lesson. I can't believe how someone who has a huge authority here on Steemit understood a little minnow who abused his community so badly. I told him I was so desperate. I was ready to leave Steemit for good. But he gave me a chance to make things right.I guess that's how life is. People make mistakes. I'm not perfect.
When I started, I knew that it was wrong. But I was desperate. So I continued to do it without thinking of the consequences that come ahead.
To the Peace, Abundance, Liberty Network, I am truly sorry for what I did. I robbed you all of the resources that you deserve.
To the team behind the PALNet, your vision and mission to help the minnows are pure. But I abused it for my own selfish reasons. I ran out of choices, that was the last thing I can resort to. With that, I am truly sorry.
To all the Steemit users, I robbed you some percentage of what you should have earned. With that, I am truly sorry.
I want to make it up all of you in any way I can. I don't know how I will do it yet, honestly speaking, but I plan to make things right. Even if it means not returning to Steemit anymore.
Again, I am truly sorry for what I've done. I am just a desperate man who wants my grandfather to be well again. My intention is good, but my ways are not. I promise never to do it again.
I know I won't meet you all in person, but I will forever carry the burden of robbing you all of the resources you truly deserve.
My grandfather's hospital room.
Hi @hundreddays (or @renepaolo or @aut0matic or...),
I think you could have turned this story to a better end if you would have come fully clean. I don't think you've revealed all of your fake accounts, nor your real account, not even a correct sum of misappropriated rewards...
This makes it hard for me to trust your given reasoning or to take your apology serious.
Just know... I have so far recorded 20 steemit and 87 discord accounts related to you. I'll keep an eye on these!
This is my side to the story:
Here's how You got caught
edit: fellow steemian @discordiant has uncovered that the apologizing account (@hunddreddays) was started with a fake sob story to get money to begin with! "100 Days Left: I'm here to save for my burial expenses" - serious troll-balls that guy!
@hundreddays first post though.... this guy is complete bs
@renepaolo links to this website:
http://renepaolo.com/whos-pao/
I guess I did stupid things when I was 21.
But that was before immutable blockchains...
lol, yes, i've been to his site...
yeah right :P
Thanks. I'm disgusted by this abusing cheat. I upvoted and contributed how I could, but thankfully have been able to reverse the vote before any payout. Great job @fraenk. I fell for his heartstring-tugging lies, so thank you for setting the record straight.
If that lying, cheating original poster reads this: you're scum. I hope you leave this community and never come back. People like you make the world a worse place.
This post received a 3.9% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @fraenk! For more information, click here!
thanks for helping me make this visible ;)
I almost got tricked into upvoting this post. Thank for the research you did on it (and continue to do... that's the only way to stop scammers is to follow them around and out them)
I knew steem was too good to be true and this s*** would happen. Cut his hands off!!!
woah... let's not make a mess :P I am pretty sure there are bigger and worse scams going on... let's keep the blades unsheathed until we find some of those.
After all... it wasn't like was a criminal mastermind... he really clumsily tried to make a quick profit... that's all.
I personally think his apology is the bigger insult to the community than his scam to begin with.
I made a few edits for your article, to save you some time:
" I was excited to finally
earnabuse somegood earningscharity""I knew that the system
will be abusedwas already being abused by me"...
"I had some deep realizations."
Ah, once you got caught. What a coincidence!
"I can't think of any other situation worse than this."
Think harder.
"I want to make it up all of you in any way I can."
You could have started by payout-declining this post, but what a surprise, you didn't!
Well, thanks for coming clean. We'll continue discussing this and figuring out how to make it right.
No harm no foul right? Honestly when she started talking about posting "6 Memes a day" like work, it made me laugh, so did all the spongebob related account names lol
and then it reminded me of the times I accidentally memorized Final Exam material by attempting to chat ona test by writing cheat sheet notes on my arm, or leg and then ending up honestly having learned it byheart by the time I had to take the test, the kid who tricked himself into doing good by trying to do bad (to do goo)
And I honestly think that if she can make the money back and donate it all back to the minnow support group WITH interest that they can see it as a simple interest bearing loan and everyone will have won out, right?
also in spirit of Mt Gox, the rising price of Steem may have covered the debt by now?
Also maybe her punishment should be to operate all of her sockpuppet accounts untill they save up 100 steempower each and then give them away to some new users who deserve a break....
@aggroed let see how sincere it it...
What you did wasn't right, but I applaud your courage for speaking from the heart about it. I can't say I wouldn't do the same if I were in your shoes; desperation can make a man do funny things. But if you choose to continue on a path of honesty and integrity, your rewards will pay dividend more than any complicated penny bot scheme could.
Well, even I get duped sometimes. Be sure to read @hundreddays' first post, and then @fraenks comment on this thread, and decide for yourself, but it seems this @hundreddays is a habitual liar.
My above advice in the original comment still stands, but until you actually produce value for the community, no amount of sob stories will be entertained by anyone that is privy to your fake 100 days to live story that is your namesake.
Hi @r0nd0n you have point of view and right...
This is a really cool story on a bunch of levels, and I'm glad you and @aggroed are in touch now and rectifying. Thanks for posting.
I know what it's like to be in a hard place, and I know that when desperation strikes we can make some bad choices, it takes a lot of strength to stand up and admit that you messed up, so props for that.
Perhaps once you get back on your feet you can return the ill gotten funds and clear your conscience. I hope you do the right thing.
I'm surprised anyone would want to deal with @banjo and @minnowsupport that often. Those two can be harsh.
Appreciate the honesty and coming clean.
Watson, from IBM.
does @banjo replys too ??? lol
The most basic answer would be, people do not like being told their religion is wrong.
Think he is using the Cleverbot API IIRC?
that's makes sense, but still being a cool thing lol
Not that I can say don't worry about it, but look at the bright side you actually put in a lot of effort....
All you need to do is direct that energy and effort into positively building on your one and only Steemit account.
You can rewind time my friend, you've been given a chance no sulking just work harder and smarter.
:)
We all make mistakes, but recognizing it and apologize really is the better way to clean things out. And also You have a truly nobel motivation, and I'm quite sure people will understand that. I guess this is another magic thing from steemit, it does not really cost anything to help someone in need.
I'll be doing my part resteeming your post, I truly hope you manage to gather enough resources to help your grampa. I wish you the best !
steem on!
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by gloriacris from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, and someguy123. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you like what we're doing please upvote this comment so we can continue to build the community account that's supporting all members.
@hundreddays, writing this piece had to take guts, but it had to be done. Thank you for having the courage to tell us. I myself use the @minnowsupport system and I am thankful for the boost they give us. More than thankful, without them would my account not have grown so fast! I am interested in how you were able to register so many accounts? My wife cannot register because we share the same wifi at home. Only 1 laptop. How did you do it? I am even available on Discord if you want to chat there rather. How do I get my wife on Steemit? I tried registering all email and cell numbers available to me. No luck?? @darnscotty
You could use https://anon.steem.network (its legit)
Hi @wux, thank you, I will look into their site!
Your brave man.. We must learn learn that everything have consequences.. Its your decision to ignore it but your courage is enough to prove yourself.. Goodluck to you :) get CHANGED. Thats the only thing you must do
It's an empty hospital bed! Where is your grandfather dude?
You could have just asked for help. Look at all the support we gave @venuspcs when he was in need! But glad you came about with your conscience clean.
Nice story!
exactly... story... another nice story!
I don't know her but if you look at her wallet, she is moving very small amounts of money out of steemit ($1-$5) and it leads me to believe she really does need the money. It does take courage to come clean
We all make mistakes. It's what we do after we've made them that matters. It took a lot of courage for you to admit your wrong doings.
Thank you for the great story. The lesson has bee learned and we grow. You have learned forgiveness. You have learned kindness. You have learned right from wrong. That is good. Welcome friend. This reminds me of a post I made today on my blog about minnows...If I may share it. I hope you do not mind. https://steemit.com/story/@enjoywithtroy/a-fun-steemit-poem-for-you-minnows-dolphins-and-whales-enjoy-with-troy. I have not shared a post like this in quite a while. I hope you and the Steemit community can enjoy and grow from it. Blessings - Troy
Thank you for your honesty, you are very brave! We all have to learn from our mistakes, this is what we do as humans beings.. falling and getting up again..
I wish you and your grandfather the best of luck, I hope he is doing well now.
I applaud the way you are handling this.
I think as long as you are honest and open ,you will find more help in the long run.
No more @krustykrab, @spongeb0b, @squidward
;-)
Good job on the post.
upvote for coming forward and manning up!.
Namaste,
I Tineye reverse image searched the image of the hospital bed, just to make sure that wasnt taken from google images, since i thought it was strange that there was no "Grandfather" in the picture
but this image seems to be original.
https://www.tineye.com/search/02ffe473f022731e598854e149dbd1865684161b/
Anyway maybe you can just do extra work for steemit, you could help create a SYSTEM to PREVENT Fraud like this in the future! it would be your way of inventing a new field of steemit research, Steemit Minow Support Abuse Mitigation....
I voted, so I am Your fan! But You only gain one fckng bitchcoin from my side. ;-)))
It's good that you were honest with the community here at Steemit. I've just joined and am trying to get the hang of things and although what you did was wrong, it shows that Steemit is a decent place where people can be understood and given second chances....unlike in life most of the time. I wish you all the best with your grandfather and your living situation. Been there, done that. If you ever need a friend to chat with about it. I'm here. All the best.
Your honesty and sincerity are admirable @hundreddays and I for one can forgive someone who would abuse the system to feed himself and his family, especially when there are SO MANY others abusing the system in a much more aggressive manner and to a much greater degree without any desperate need to do so and whose abuse often goes unchallenged or even defended.
Have a great day my friend!
This post got a
4.18% upvote thanks to @ausbitbank - Hail Eris !This was before I discovered fraenks update. I'll undo this.
You sir, are a bonus to MSP. Have a hug
Comedy gold
I can't say I am as forgiving as some of the comments on here, you come on Steemit you notice something you can do to make a quick buck. What ever its for where other fellow minnows are working hard to build their reputations even now I look at your apology which stands at over $30.00 you came clean because you were pushed into a corner, you were caught. You robbed valuable SBD from me and fellow minnows. It think its only right that some of that goes back to the pot. I am sorry about your grandfather truly I am desperate times do call for desperate measures, but this short term win will do you no long term wins in the future.
On a further note regarding your grandfather, it would have been far better to reach out to us minnows for help and support instead of doing this take a leaf out of @venuspcs book and you will see what I mean.
This just proves that if a system can be abused, eventually someone will abuse it. I saw a guy post a reply to one of blogs, and he instantly got 12 upvotes to his post. I asked him how he was doing it, and he acted like he had no idea. Yeah, right. Those accounts just randomly follow him around upvoting all of his content by magic I'm sure. har har ;-)