‘Cats have a scam going – you buy the food, they eat the food, they go away; that’s the deal.’
– Eddie Izzard, British stand-up comedian.
I was on a roll, getting things done left and right, when suddenly my phone rang. It was an unknown number flashing on the screen, and for a moment, I hesitated.
Should I answer or not? But my curiosity got the better of me, and I swiped the green button.
“Hello?” I said, trying to sound confident and collected, but really feeling a bit uneasy about who might be on the other end of the line. And that’s when the craziness began…
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The man on the other end of the line, who claimed to be a police officer, was insisting that I was the brains behind a high-stakes gambling operation that had scored big in Perak. Was this some kind of twisted prank? Or worse, had I somehow stumbled into a real-life thriller? The whole thing seemed too surreal to be true, but there was an edge to the caller’s voice that left me feeling uneasy.
The only form of gambling I do might be like what I did last night during dinner, which was to have a big plate of fried rice instead of a garden salad and trust that the calories would go to all the right places.
As the man persisted in questioning me about my personal information, a growing sense of discomfort began to overtake me.
When he asked me for my home address, I instinctively knew that something was off.
Despite my mounting unease, I maintained my composure and responded calmly, saying, “Could you read it to me instead?”
The man then read out a random Perak address, which I took as the cue for me to hang up. He did not call back.
These days, we know very well to expect a scammer on the line when it’s an unknown number. This is why I tend to avoid answering calls from unsaved numbers as a precautionary measure.
It was just another lazy Sunday when my phone suddenly buzzed with a notification. Curious, I checked it and found out I had been added to a WhatsApp group with over a hundred strangers.
It was like walking into a party where you don’t know anyone, only this time, it was in a digital space. And just like that, the group was rebranded to “Stock Market GP A805,” leaving me wondering what exactly was going on.
As I perused the chat group, a facilitator made an entrance, presenting herself as an official representative of a well-known social media platform. She proclaimed that this was a chance for newcomers to get involved and potentially earn up to RM5,500 each month
The sheer audacity of the offer was enough to make me exclaim, “Wow!”
All we had to do was provide our preferred receipt method directly to the facilitator, and follow a “simple set of instructions to receive some cash”
As the facilitator continued to dangle the carrot of promised cash rewards, some participants couldn’t help but be enticed. The facilitator threw around alluring reward figures that made many people consider going along with the deal.
However, the instructions were confusing and challenging to decipher. It wasn’t clear what exactly we had to do to get the rewards, but it seemed that we needed to provide proof of our subscription to the app and share our bank account details.
What made the situation even more unsettling was when the facilitator mentioned that “our salaries would be transferred into the account.” It felt like a sense of urgency was added to the mix, and it seemed like the participants needed to act quickly before the opportunity slipped away.
The mention of salaries being transferred made the offer seem more legitimate. However, this also meant that by giving away bank details, it was possible that the hard-earned salary could end up in the hands of scammers rather than in my own account.
As I watched, participants began uploading screenshots of the funds they had received, and this continued for hours.
You would wonder who on earth would fall for something like this.
It’s not uncommon for people to fall for the promise of easy money. Scammers have been using the lure of quick riches for years, and unfortunately, many people continue to fall victim to their tactics.
They often cast a wide net, targeting as many people as possible in the hopes of ensnaring some unsuspecting individuals.
The scams come in many forms, from fake lottery winnings to bogus investment opportunities. They often have a sense of urgency attached to them, making it seem like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that cannot be missed. In reality, they are nothing but elaborate ploys designed to steal money from innocent victims.
But scammers are getting better at their craft. Close friends and my own mother have told me of actual cases of broad daylight robbery within their social circles.
My friend told me scammers now target their victims by thoroughly going to great lengths to study your social media profiles, learning all about your likes, dislikes, and preferences. Then, they create a virtual persona that’s charming, engaging, and seems to have everything in common with you. They never meet you in person, but communicate with you only via text or voice, gradually gaining your trust and affection. It’s a sophisticated scam that preys on vulnerable individuals who are looking for love and connection in all the wrong places.
Her own close friend is in love with an avatar she met online, and transfers money to him. Or “it”. What!
One cautionary tale involved a well-respected 70-year-old businesswoman who had fallen deeply in love with her online boyfriend from Nigeria. She had exhausted her own savings to support him and had even resorted to borrowing money from her friends to fund their relationship.
That’s just crazy. But can anything surprise us anymore, these days?
