Your Joke Texts With Scammers Will Backfire
Spam texts are now an unfortunate fact of life. Looking down at your phone to see a weird number or email address with an equally weird message attached is par for the course. However, not all strange texts seem like spam: sometimes you get a message that looks completely legitimate, just clearly not meant for you. An ordinary message or a typical question addressed to someone else’s name.
You may be tempted to reply to such messages. If the other end seems to be really addressing someone, it seems right to let them know they have the wrong number. Or maybe the sender is a blatant scammer and it seems like it would be fun to mess around with them – there’s nothing wrong with getting revenge in the form of a waste of time, right?
Well, not so fast.
Never reply to a scammer
At a basic level, a spam text response confirms that your number is active and busy. The only thing worse than a constant bombardment of spam calls and text messages is to let those spammers know they have a live one. Remember: most spam texts and calls are most likely not aimed at you directly. You are probably just another number in a long list that scammers are recruiting en masse to see who is pecking. Once they find out that your number is valid, they will harass you much more actively or sell your number to others who want to …
And that can be worse than exposing yourself to more annoying messages and calls. Communicating with a scammer only increases the risk of being deceived or influencing his tactics in any way. Even if you know what’s going on, there’s a simple risk that you accidentally open one of their malicious links or files; let’s say your fingers might slip while you taunt them, giving you access to whatever nefarious URL the scammer wanted you to click on in the first place. (Perhaps this goes without saying, but for the record: don’t open any links or PDFs sent to you by a stranger ).
Fraudsters can take everything from you
In a pinch, replying to spam text can leave you penniless. Today, Vice published an article detailing the inner workings of the horrendous scam industry, featuring one particular victim who was robbed of approximately $2.5 million . Her scammer befriended her and subsequently convinced her to “invest” in cryptocurrencies using a website recommended by the scammer. Website? Fake. Cryptocurrency? False. Her money is gone and the scammer is gone.
This story about Vice is a wild read, in part because many of these scammers are actually forced into scams out of fear of jail time or even death (you really never know who is on the other side of that keyboard). But the takeaway is simple: don’t interact with the weird texts you get. There is no plus! At best, you will chuckle or gain Twitter credibility by talking to a scammer while they get confirmation that your number is active. In the worst case scenario, you may unwittingly give away personal information or even money.
I would advise you not to listen to financial advice from a stranger and invest in an asset based on the recommendation of someone you met on the wrong number, but you know it. Instead, treat spam accordingly.
What to do if you receive spam text
If you are sure that the text is spam and not just an innocent message sent to the wrong number, report it immediately. The best way to do this is to forward the text and sender number or email address to your carrier by sending a text message to 7726. It’s not clear how effective spam text reporting is, but it’s one of the few tools we have to combat this. . insidious industry, and I take great pleasure in every spam text I receive.
If you’re looking for more catharsis, why not live through those who make it their life’s work to get revenge on scammers? Channels such as Kitboga and Scammer Payback have shared many videos of them confronting scammers, wasting their time, and otherwise ruining their business. My advice? Delete the snarky reply to the spam text, report it, and then watch one of them.