For awhile now, I’ve been documenting the “wrong number” scam. They text me, suggesting I’m someone they know and, when I say I’m not that person, they follow their script, apologizing and then asking questions to “know me better.“ The middle game seems to be to get connected on WhatsApp or Telegram, but lately they’veContinue reading “WhatsUpp??”
Tag Archives: scam
What Confusion?
Frequent readers of this blog know of my verbal jousting with the wrong number scammers: they introduce themselves, apologize for getting me by accident, and then pursue a closer friendship on WhatsApp. I enjoy messing with them through improv and sometimes they can’t handle it. Oh, no, looks like I got the wrong number forContinue reading “What Confusion?”
Wrong Number (2)
And this one went on too long. I thought at first that  it might be a real person pretending to be this persona but the answers do seem a bit reactive and formulaic. And at that point I just hit the block button to wait for the next one.
Wrong Number (1)
I’ve written a lot about the wrong number texts—someone sends a message to a friend but has entered the number incorrectly. Oh, no, sorry, but can we be friends? I used to have fun improvising with them, but lately they’ve been taking a darker turn. And so have I. This week I’ve gotten about 12Continue reading “Wrong Number (1)”
And It Continues…
Awhile back I was posting a lot of these “wrong number” texts and my improv’d responses to them. A friend suggested that the origin of those might in fact be AI bots, but I don’t think it makes it less funny or tragic. Take these two; their approach is slightly different but I responded theContinue reading “And It Continues…”
Wrong Number & Mood Swings
Labor Day 2024 wasn’t a holiday for the wrong number callers. I think this was #5. And how they hate—literally!—when you point out that you know what they’re doing.
Take Your Job and…
I keep getting text messages from someones who ask if I am looking for work. These could be legitimate messages, though I have suspected they are not. The most recent exchange suggests: not. Yesterday this occurred: I thought that would be the end of it. Today this happens. Apparently “Jessica” doesn’t understand the difference betweenContinue reading “Take Your Job and…”
You’re a Character—Or Two
Another wrong number text message hit my phone this past weekend. “She” started on the offensive (there’s probably some chess gambit I could refer to here) but I hit back immediately. You have to admire them for only wanting to be friends. Anytime the conversation goes sexual, they deflect. I should probably be grateful forContinue reading “You’re a Character—Or Two”
And Just Then…
When I thought I might have a day off from the wrong number scammers, here comes this one. I was impressed that the opening gambit differed from previous ones; usually they tell me I’m some Asian woman and that they’re a friend of mine. Here “she “uses my name, but flips the script and saysContinue reading “And Just Then…”
Short-Circuit the Scam
Last week I had a half dozen of those wrong number scam messages. Frequent readers of my blog know that I usually like to play along with them. But lately I’ve decided to play against them and see what happens. This is an example of attempting to short-circuit their script. I did expect some sortContinue reading “Short-Circuit the Scam”
MUSOFYR 