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This might explain why scambots routinely try this approach on messaging apps (Telegram/Whatsapp/you name it). As in, send an absolutely out-of-the blue message

This might explain why scambots routinely try this approach on messaging apps (Telegram/Whatsapp/you name it). As in, send an absolutely out-of-the blue message like a table reservation, wait for the predictable you-got-the-wrong-number reply and use that as an inroad to strike a conversation. To me it always seemed like such a dumb attempt to lure people in, but perhaps other cultures might honestly read this as a genuine social relation.

soneca 3y ago
I started to get a lot of simple ”Hello!” and that’s it, from unknown numbers on WhatsApp. I block without replying, but I can see how a lot of people would reply returning the greeting and asking who they are.
klabb3 3y ago
> As in, send an absolutely out-of-the blue message like a table reservation, wait for the predictable you-got-the-wrong-number reply and use that as an inroad to strike a conversation. I thought that was “active number farming”. If so, a human replying is the end goal.
user_7832 3y ago
If you go to r/scams or r/scambait you can see their full script. It's sometimes funny, but apparently a lot of these scammers are being held literally captive in a foreign country, and apparently some of them have had their kidney taken. They are held until they manage to recover their "ransom" amount through these scams. Here's an NYT article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/17/world/asia/myanmar-cyber-scam.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/17/world/asia/my...
- mtreis86 3y ago
  My current goto response (which anecdotally seems to work) is to empathize with them and call out their situation for what it is. At the very least if their supervisors find I'm trying to support (radicalize) them they'll take my number off the list. Something like "I know you're a scammer and I hope you're safe, I hear ya'll are often enslaved"
  - dylan604 3y ago
    > ya'll what is this word that is being contracted here?
    - anjel 3y ago
      "You all"
      - dylan604 3y ago
        you all => y'all *this is a pet peeve. it could easily be a typo, but there is a large portion of people that believe the proper contraction is ya'll for some strange reason.
        20after4 3y ago
        There is no proper contraction for those two words. :D

soneca 3y ago

I started to get a lot of simple ”Hello!” and that’s it, from unknown numbers on WhatsApp. I block without replying, but I can see how a lot of people would reply returning the greeting and asking who they are.

klabb3 3y ago

> As in, send an absolutely out-of-the blue message like a table reservation, wait for the predictable you-got-the-wrong-number reply and use that as an inroad to strike a conversation. I thought that was “active number farming”. If so, a human replying is the end goal.

user_7832 3y ago

If you go to r/scams or r/scambait you can see their full script. It's sometimes funny, but apparently a lot of these scammers are being held literally captive in a foreign country, and apparently some of them have had their kidney taken. They are held until they manage to recover their "ransom" amount through these scams. Here's an NYT article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/17/world/asia/myanmar-cyber-scam.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/17/world/asia/my...

mtreis86 3y ago
My current goto response (which anecdotally seems to work) is to empathize with them and call out their situation for what it is. At the very least if their supervisors find I'm trying to support (radicalize) them they'll take my number off the list. Something like "I know you're a scammer and I hope you're safe, I hear ya'll are often enslaved"
- dylan604 3y ago
  > ya'll what is this word that is being contracted here?
  - anjel 3y ago
    "You all"
    - dylan604 3y ago
      you all => y'all *this is a pet peeve. it could easily be a typo, but there is a large portion of people that believe the proper contraction is ya'll for some strange reason.
      - 20after4 3y ago
        There is no proper contraction for those two words. :D