For the second scenario, I always recommend to the people around me, if someone messages you and doesn't have a lot of the friends you know, then don't respond.

For the second scenario, I always recommend to the people around me, if someone messages you and doesn't have a lot of the friends you know, then don't respond. That becomes challenging when the person being asked for help doesn't know your friends circle. Also, try to call them anyways before you do something. I.e. message them on WhatsApp or another chat application. It's similar to the old email scam that used to run asking for help with an email address which was changed by one word. It was not that prevalent though. This is really a crazy thing, would love to see what others can come up with.