Ahoy there, fellow Netizens!
Ever receive a text message that was clearly meant for someone else? If so, watch out! Innocent seeming “wrong number” texts could be part of a scam trying to steal your money!
Beware friendly strangers texting you!
I received one such text a few months ago from a person calling themselves Anna. It read: “Hi Jasmine , long time no see, when are you going back to Thailand.” (The grammatical errors were in the original text). My name is not Jasmine, so at first glance it looks like someone accidentally sent a text to me instead of to their friend.
Unfortunately, the truth is far more sinister. The text is a ploy to get you to respond and tell the sender they have the wrong number. Then, they thank you for being understanding and attempt to strike up conversation. Over days, weeks, or months, the sender will then text you, telling you about their life and asking about yours in an attempt to gain your trust.
For example, Anna checked in with me first thing in the morning and late at night. She sent me photos of herself out shopping or of what she had for lunch. However, the photos were probably stolen from someone else’s social media account.
After a few days of texting, Anna told me she had been helping her friend with online investing. I knew this was a scam and was curious about where it would lead, so I asked if she had any investing tips she could share with me. Sure enough, she told me she was doing short-term crypto trades and would be very happy to teach me.
The first step, she said, was to download CashApp so I could buy a form of cryptocurrency called USDT. However, the actual “trading” would be done using a different app. I didn’t find out the name of the other app, as Anna stopped texting me when I expressed reluctance about setting up CashApp. However, whatever it was, the other app would not be legitimate—it would be operated by the scammers.
If I had continued talking with Anna, she would have instructed me to transfer crypto purchased using CashApp to the scam platform. Then, she would have told me what “trades” to make. The website would have made it look like I had made a good profit and if I tried to withdraw my funds at this point, the scammers would probably let me do so. That’s because they would want to make the platform seem legitimate and convince me to invest even more money.
In reality, though, any money I transferred to the scam app would have gone straight to the scammers’ wallet. And once Anna had lured me into making a big deposit, there would be no chance of getting it back. Worse, the scam platform would probably try to get even more money out of me by claiming I need to pay “taxes” or “fees” to withdraw my funds. Of course, if I paid those fees, I still wouldn’t be getting my money.
Scammers are victims too
While it’s easy to be angry with people like Anna, they are likely victims themselves. Criminal gangs have set up compounds in places like Myanmar filled with people kidnapped or trafficked from South East Asia who are then forced to scam. If they don’t comply, the criminal gangs may withhold their food or even beat them.
What can you do?
If you receive a text that’s not meant for you, don’t reply to it. Or, if you do respond, don’t engage further than politely telling them they have the wrong number.
It's also worth warning your friends and family about this scam if they have not heard about it. The more people that know about it, the less effective the scammers will be!
If you want to learn more about this scam, which is called pig butchering, check out this video by Jim Browning and this one by John Oliver.
Until next time, stay safe out there!
