And it worked for Thomas Murray Earnshaw — at first, anyway.
The Dunedin District Court heard the 19-year-old made more than $2000 in a week, advertising items — including event tickets, hair driers and gaming consoles — through online marketplaces, accepting payment, then simply failing to deliver the goods.
But if the crimes were easy to commit, they were just as easy for police to solve.
Earnshaw used the pseudonym "Abbie Schlatt" online but to benefit from the swindle he had to provide his own bank account details.
When police caught up with him, he explained the rationale behind the spree.
"The defendant stated he had been scammed $500 recently and the police told him that it was a civil matter. He thought that it was easy to be scammed so started to do it himself," court documents said.
A couple of months later, on July 16, the teenager was back on police radar.
Earnshaw was driving an unwarranted, unregistered Volkswagen in Cumberland St while his girlfriend was on the same road in her Nissan.
The court heard the pair drove south at high speed, "competing for position" during the street race.
As they entered the sweeping left bend towards South Dunedin, the woman lost control and her vehicle skidded 40m on to the footpath.
Earnshaw remained at the scene where he was arrested, but his situation deteriorated further when he was searched.
Officers found a small resealable bag containing MDMA and a tobacco pouch with cannabis inside.
He pleaded guilty to nine charges.
Counsel Libby Hadlow stressed it was the teen’s first time before the court and that he had spent the previous night in the cells for breaching his bail.
"This has been a bit of a wake-up call for him," she said.
Community magistrate Sherida Cooper said most of the victims of the online fraud were students, "trying to get a degree and make something of their lives", who had been significantly impacted by the financial loss.
Earnshaw had saved $1000 and would repay the remaining $1147 at $30 a week, the magistrate ruled.
He was sentenced to 90 hours’ community work, 12 months’ supervision and fined $500.
Earnshaw was also banned from driving for six months and ordered to complete a defensive-driving course.
