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I got rid of SMS loan spammers. (or "how I accidentally wrote sci-fi copypasta"
- ycombiredd 1y agoI did not set out to write an enjoyable, well-crafted narrative satirical sci-fi short, complete with escalating story arc and subplots of political intrigue, possible murder-for-hire solicitation (and more!) nor did I really expect my reply to put an end to the incessant sms spam I'd been receiving for a decade+; I just wanted to amuse myself as a distraction from more pressing matters.
- yetihehe 1y agoHow well did it actually work? Do you have some responses from scammers?
- ycombiredd 1y agoi got one phone call (which is not their normal m.o. in my case) a few hours after sending my reply. I knew it was a follow-up to my text reply story when he said "I'm the one who contacted you at.. the company you are at .." sounded like he was trying to read what to say based roughly on paraphrasing my text. I interrupted with just the word "no." and hung up. I have not received a single sms soliciting a loan in over two weeks now!
- yetihehe 1y agoHmm, might be "this number responded with a lot of text, probably some other soliciting/advertising agency, better drop it".
- ycombiredd 1y agoIt could certainly be that, which would possibly lend some credence to the idea that "mass over-response" could be a viable solution to spam, wouldn't it?
- yetihehe 1y agoYeah. On the plus side - at least you got a nice copypasta from it!
- ycombiredd 1y agothank you!
- jakedata 1y agoHe may be underestimating the potential market for insect and cephalopod derived personas. Lonely Cronenberg/Lovecraft fans are the tip of the iceberg. Dress one up in a suit and you might find them in the pages of FT or WSJ in short order.
- ycombiredd 1y agoI hope so. And thanks for reading it that far!