These are "pig butchering scams" run out of China.
https://www.rrstar.com/story/business/2022/04/30/new-pig-but...
They befriend lonely people (usually men) and slowly draw them into a crypto scam. It's a long con, takes a few months.
What's the deal with all those weird wrong-number texts?
171–180 of 326 posts
Re: What's the deal with all those weird wrong-number texts?
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've gotten a few in the last couple months, with a US cellular number that I've had for over 20 years. At least two are "I missed you at the gym today!" via text and another was from a Vermont area code via WhatsApp to a "Dr. Jack": > Hi Dr. Jack! My cat is very slow and does not eat cat food. Can you make an appointment for me? > Sorry, you have the wrong number > Sorry, I just checked, I entered a wrong number, pl…
I also get messages on WhatsApp with similar profile pictures, although I’ve never replied or tried reverse image search. Some of the recent messages: “Mike, this is my new number. Let's play golf tomorrow and talk about working together?” (My name isn’t Mike.) “Hello, how's Kevin doing?” (My name isn’t Kevin and I doubt they're talking about anyone I know whose name is Kevin.) The thing that always seems so weird to…
Wow, I get the same messages about golfing with Kevin and Mike! (My name is also neither of those)
Re: What's the deal with all those weird wrong-number texts?
#173Related. I listed something for sale on Craigslist recently and got a bunch of messages right away that asked obvious questions that were in the listing. One suggested that his wife pick it up, and can I take Zelle? Went silent when I said cash only. But the most interesting scammer said: "for my safety, can I send you a 6-digit number, and you confirm it, so I know the listing is not fake?" I say yes, unsure what th…
So, how many fake 6-digit codes did you give them before they caught on?
My exact reply was "lol fuck you"
Re: What's the deal with all those weird wrong-number texts?
#174Useful site: unlec.com . You can look up the detailed information about a number. Includes information from the phone companies and an estimation of the fraud risk.
Re: What's the deal with all those weird wrong-number texts?
#175Two weeks ago I received an email saying I had funds in Bitcoin and I could cash out, with login details for a website account [1]. I knew this must be a scam, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out the angle. Now I'm thinking it's a similar type of scam. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ_flb9tGuc
Probably a wallet drainer. Connect it with your wallet and empties it. https://blog.confiant.com/how-one-crypto-drainer-template-fa...
Any person who is remotely knowledgeable about bitcoin should know that there is no need to "connect your wallet" or reveal your private key to receive bitcoins. To receive, you only need the address which is basically a public key.
Re: What's the deal with all those weird wrong-number texts?
#176If you get a text (not What's App) reply with "Do you know what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989? Ask Winnie The Pooh, A Free Tibet or Uyghurs". That'll trigger a few Chinese monitors, or at least scare the scammers into thinking so.
Re: What's the deal with all those weird wrong-number texts?
#177For a while I grew quite fond of wasting phone scammers time. I’d pick up, talk suuuuuuper slowly— like Emo Phillips speed at one syllable every one or two seconds— interrupt with irrelevant questions or anecdotes, and overall just see how long I could keep them on the phone without giving them any information. The best strategy I found was telling them that, yes indeed I did remember owing the IRS or whoever money a…
In case you haven't seen it, someone automated this: https://jollyrogertelephone.com/
Re: What's the deal with all those weird wrong-number texts?
#178Related. I listed something for sale on Craigslist recently and got a bunch of messages right away that asked obvious questions that were in the listing. One suggested that his wife pick it up, and can I take Zelle? Went silent when I said cash only. But the most interesting scammer said: "for my safety, can I send you a 6-digit number, and you confirm it, so I know the listing is not fake?" I say yes, unsure what th…
They were not trying to steal your number. They were using your number to back a new google voice account, so that they could get another free number from google. It’s a common scam, used on facebook marketplace sellers as well, and actually works best if the victim has never used google voice before.
Re: What's the deal with all those weird wrong-number texts?
#179For a while I grew quite fond of wasting phone scammers time. I’d pick up, talk suuuuuuper slowly— like Emo Phillips speed at one syllable every one or two seconds— interrupt with irrelevant questions or anecdotes, and overall just see how long I could keep them on the phone without giving them any information. The best strategy I found was telling them that, yes indeed I did remember owing the IRS or whoever money a…
In case you haven't seen it, someone automated this: https://jollyrogertelephone.com/
I didn't know I wanted this service until now. $2/mo? Hell yeah.
The sticking point, for me, is that I have to merge the call every time. Ugh. I want it to prompt me whether I want to blackhole a call like the Pixel Google Assistant, but instead of politely screening just torment the asshole.
For a service like that, I could imagine paying substantially more, possibly even for a premium service where the call would get transferred to a human tormentor.
Re: What's the deal with all those weird wrong-number texts?
#180Wow, how interesting. I started getting these a few months ago, right after starting a new job in a somewhat high-profile area. I have been getting 1-2 per month but found them quite unusual because none of them ever progressed to an actual scam - just a few messages back and forth about the fabricated "wrong number" situation and then each thread would stop, seemingly earnestly. Since there was no obvious scam, I've…
What would the motivation be for anyone to reply to a text from an unknown person? I have also been getting these for months, in it was 100% obvious from the get-go that it must be a scam. I have never felt the slightest urge to reply.
a good portion of these will show a photo of some hot young woman fairly early in the conversation, and trust the horniness of random dudes to outweigh their suspicion.