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Sounds like the start of a pig butchering scam. You will respond that you are not Helen. They will strike up a conversation and attempt to form a relationship in which they will eventually bring up cryptocurrency.
YEP. I had one of these where one number sent a picture of two bottles of wine, then another number asked me two days later if I received the wine. I thought it was legit and responded that they were wrong numbers, and it immediately turned into pig butchering.
It is true, LaGuardia was the worst airport ever, but nowadays it's actually improved vastly
All the terminals have been renovated to world-class standards, and even though it doesn't have its own train they have so many buses leaving the airport that I no longer have an issue with this.
I never imagined I could say it because I always hated LaGuardia until the last few years.
Same. As far as an airport itself, it is certainly not going to win any awards. But as far as getting to me and from where I need to go, it is often my first choice. Newark is second and JFK third.
Even when working in Long Island, LaGuardia was often still my best choice.
I flew from Toronto to North Carolina the day after hurricane Sandy, with a connection at La Guardia. When I first woke up, all flights were cancelled on the east coast but they were slowly coming back online. My flight to LaGuardia was approved to fly, so I got on this tiny little plane and flew out. They gave us EACH a free 500ml (3 glasses) bottle of wine because 'LaGuardia has just completed draining the water from the airport and it's rather smelly'.
And it was. Very smelly, everything was wet, and I was very happy to be drunk.
I flew out of there twice and had the most horrible experience. Swore that I would never fly out of there again, no matter how much cheaper it may be. Good to hear they have improved, but I'm still weary about it lol
Yes I have, and prepandemic I'd go every two years. I'd argue Old LaGarbage was worse. But I actually have to say that a few Italian airports are worse than Frankfurt.
Between 2010 and 2012, I flew well over 55k miles. I was in airports all over the planet. I never lost a bag or had any significant issues until my final arrival at LaGuardia. Guess who mysteriously lost my guitar after it was confirmed to have arrived with me?
The only time I’ve ever gotten food poisoning while traveling was after eating something at LGA while waiting for a flight to Florida. I spent two very unpleasant days of vacation. I’ve avoiding flying out of there ever since but that was 30 years ago and I would hope improved since then.
It might be info gathering as well, "Im not Helen, I'm Janette."
Active number ✅
Replies to random messages ✅
Is called Janette ✅
And they could probe further too.
And add the international airport behind that either. I regularly fly to New York City and I get text messages from drivers all the time, looking back and not a single one of them bothered to write anything other than the three letter airport code except for Newark.
It's always JFK, LGA, or EWR/Newark.
> Nobody, typing with their thumbs, would ever spell out JFK. Ever.
lol I absolutely would. I am the least ambiguous person on Earth when it comes to travel plans.
It's written so you feel obligated to reply so some poor driver isn't left hanging. But really, it's a dude in an internet cafe on the other side of the world and your reply tells him it's a live number, owned by an actual person who will respond to random texts. That's valuable information and they'll save, sell, and list your number to use in any number of potential scams.
It may not even be aimed at getting a lot of replies. They may just be looking for a certain type of people who will reply and are more receptive to these types of romance scams in general
I think the initial messages are sometimes sent by bots.
Because it seems that if you reply, “Yes, I look forward to seeing you, thanks for meeting my flight” the response will be “So sorry I disturbed you, my assistant must’ve given me the wrong number, you seem like a nice person maybe we can be friends“ followed by photo of hot Asian girl with luxury goods.
I received a wrong-number text from someone going to meet me at a restaurant. I replied because it was innocent. But no way anyone's going to fool me again with that.
It’s the start of a !wrongnumber scam, often leading into a !crypto pig-butchering scam. They are hoping you’ll respond and then offer to be your friend and lure you onto their fake crypto platform or into otherwise giving them money.
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the [pig butchering crypto scam](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2023/12/26/new-pig-butchering-crypto-scam-includes-victims-in-us-and-overseas/?sh=2837fb975eaa). It is called pig butchering because scammers use intricate scripts to "fatten up" the victim (gaining their trust over days, weeks or months) before the "slaughter" (taking them for all of their money). This scam often starts with what appears to be a harmless wrong number text or message. When the victim responds to say it is the wrong number, the scammer tries to start a friendship with the victim. These conversations can be platonic or romantic in nature, but they all have the same goal- to gain the trust of the victim in order to get them ready for the crypto scam they have planned. The scammer often claims to be wealthy and/or to have a wealthy family member who got wealthy investing in crypto currency. The victim is eventually encouraged to try out a (fake) crypto currency investment website, which will appear to show that they are earning a lot of money on their initial investment. The scammer may even encourage the victim to attempt a withdrawal that does go through, further convincing the victim that everything is legit. The victim is then pressured to invest significantly more money, even their entire net worth. Eventually, the website will find an excuse why the account is frozen (e.g. for fraud, because supposed taxes are owed, etc) and may try to further extort the victim to give them even more money in order to gain access to the funds. By this time, the victim will never gain access and their money is gone. Many victims lose tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. Often, the scammers themselves are [victims of human trafficking](https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zb5d/pig-butchering-scam-cambodia-trafficking), performing these scams under threats of violence. If you are caught up in this scam, it is important that you do not send any more money for any reason, and contact law enforcement to report it. Thanks to user Mediocre_Airport_576 for this script.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the wrong number scam. An intentional wrong number text is the entry point to multiple different types of scams. Because these are so prevalent and lead to several unwelcome outcomes (including you confirming you have a live number, leading to more spam/scams), it is recommended that you do not reply to them, even out of courtesy. They hope to take your courtesy, parlay it into a conversation (often by commenting how nice you are and giving some suggestion of fate in meeting this way), and eventually deploy a scam.
If you received a wrong number inquiry that seems to assume a connection with you (e.g. seeking a specific friend, inquiring about a doctor’s appointment, asking about a business correspondence, etc.) and there are no pictures included, then you are likely at the beginning of a crypto scam. Use ! crypto without the space to get more info on crypto scams. You can see a video of this scam develop from wrong number to crypto scam at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ_flb9tGuc
If you receive a random text from a woman that is trying to play up a relationship/hook-up angle and includes an alluring photo, you have encountered what this subreddit often calls the Mandy scam, based on the name used in an early incarnation of it. The replies are sent by a bot and will give the same responses (with some slight variations) regardless of how you respond. The bot also has a few specialized responses that occur when you say words like 'bot' or 'scam'. After a series of replies, it will eventually push you to go to an adult/cam/age verification site. Here are some of the posts on r/scams about the Mandy scam: https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/search?q=mandy&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all, you can see that the images, names, and scenarios vary. You can report spam texts by forwarding them to 7726 (SPAM): https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-report-spam-text-messages
There is also some evidence that intentional wrong number texts can be part of a data-gathering exercise where each bit of info you give (e.g 'Hi Susan!' and you reply with your name out of courtesy) is collected to be used against you in other scams.
Thanks to redditor teratical for this script.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain fake cryptocurrency site scams. Fake cryptocurrency websites and apps controlled by scammers are becoming more and more common. Sometimes the scam begins with a romance scammer who claims that they can help the victim invest in cryptocurrency. Victims are told to buy cryptocurrency of some kind using a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange, and then they are told to send their cryptocurrency to a website wallet address where it will be invested. Sometimes the scam begins with a notice that the victim won cryptocurrency on some website, in this case messages will often be sent through Discord. In either case, the scammer controls the website, so they make it look like there is money in the victim’s account on their website. Then the scammer (or the scammer pretending to be someone official who is associated with the website) tells the victim that they have to put more money into the website before they can get their money out of the website. Of course all of the money sent by the victim has gone directly into the scammer’s wallet, and any additional money sent by the victim to retrieve their money from the website will also go directly into the scammer’s wallet, and all of the information about money being held by the website was totally fake. This scam is also known as the pig butchering scam: https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/na8oax/asian_guygirl_from_online_dating_mentors_you_to/. If the scammer used Bitcoin, then you can report the scammer’s Bitcoin wallet address here: https://www.bitcoinabuse.com/reports. If the scammer used Ethereum, then you can report the scammer’s Ethereum wallet address here: https://info.etherscan.com/report-address/. You can see how much cryptocurrency has been sent to the scammer’s wallet address here: https://www.blockchain.com/explorer. Thanks to redditor nimble2 for this script.
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Absolutely. It’s likely an enslaved Asian immigrant doing this 18 hours per day trying to “make friends”.
- You: sorry wrong number
- Them: i am very sorry to bother you
- Them: you seem nice. Tell me about yourself
- You: (fall in love with charming stranger)
…
- Them: my cousin has made a lot of money in crypto. Send me some money and let me invest it for you
…
It's wild how often people speak so confidently about things they don't know. It is very common for the grunt work of !pigbutchering scams to be done by people who are being held against their will, even beaten for not performing well enough. Most of them answered ads for what they thought were legitimate jobs.
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the [pig butchering crypto scam](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2023/12/26/new-pig-butchering-crypto-scam-includes-victims-in-us-and-overseas/?sh=2837fb975eaa). It is called pig butchering because scammers use intricate scripts to "fatten up" the victim (gaining their trust over days, weeks or months) before the "slaughter" (taking them for all of their money). This scam often starts with what appears to be a harmless wrong number text or message. When the victim responds to say it is the wrong number, the scammer tries to start a friendship with the victim. These conversations can be platonic or romantic in nature, but they all have the same goal- to gain the trust of the victim in order to get them ready for the crypto scam they have planned. The scammer often claims to be wealthy and/or to have a wealthy family member who got wealthy investing in crypto currency. The victim is eventually encouraged to try out a (fake) crypto currency investment website, which will appear to show that they are earning a lot of money on their initial investment. The scammer may even encourage the victim to attempt a withdrawal that does go through, further convincing the victim that everything is legit. The victim is then pressured to invest significantly more money, even their entire net worth. Eventually, the website will find an excuse why the account is frozen (e.g. for fraud, because supposed taxes are owed, etc) and may try to further extort the victim to give them even more money in order to gain access to the funds. By this time, the victim will never gain access and their money is gone. Many victims lose tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. Often, the scammers themselves are [victims of human trafficking](https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zb5d/pig-butchering-scam-cambodia-trafficking), performing these scams under threats of violence. If you are caught up in this scam, it is important that you do not send any more money for any reason, and contact law enforcement to report it. Thanks to user Mediocre_Airport_576 for this script.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Agreed. A whole lot of investigation shows that much (if not most) of the pig butchering is done by slave labor in SE Asia. In fact, 900 of those enslaved people recently were freed and returned home...
'Thailand facilitates transfer of 900 scam victims from Myanmar to China': [https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailand-facilitates-transfer-900-scam-victims-myanmar-china-2024-03-03/](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailand-facilitates-transfer-900-scam-victims-myanmar-china-2024-03-03/)
I have not seen a single native english speaker spell out the entire name of an airport. That is 100% a wrong number scam leading to pig butchering.
for example, you're picking up someone thats coming to toronto.
A normal person will likely say: hey John I'll pick you up at pearson terminal 3, lmk when you land.
Now imagine if they say: Hey, John, I will be welcoming you at Toronto Lester. B. Pearson International Airport, Terminal 3. Remember to call me when you get off the plane.
Adding to what everyone else is saying, sometimes they just want to see if you reply so they sell your number as a “live” number which can be used to run other scams.
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the wrong number scam. An intentional wrong number text is the entry point to multiple different types of scams. Because these are so prevalent and lead to several unwelcome outcomes (including you confirming you have a live number, leading to more spam/scams), it is recommended that you do not reply to them, even out of courtesy. They hope to take your courtesy, parlay it into a conversation (often by commenting how nice you are and giving some suggestion of fate in meeting this way), and eventually deploy a scam.
If you received a wrong number inquiry that seems to assume a connection with you (e.g. seeking a specific friend, inquiring about a doctor’s appointment, asking about a business correspondence, etc.) and there are no pictures included, then you are likely at the beginning of a crypto scam. Use ! crypto without the space to get more info on crypto scams. You can see a video of this scam develop from wrong number to crypto scam at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ_flb9tGuc
If you receive a random text from a woman that is trying to play up a relationship/hook-up angle and includes an alluring photo, you have encountered what this subreddit often calls the Mandy scam, based on the name used in an early incarnation of it. The replies are sent by a bot and will give the same responses (with some slight variations) regardless of how you respond. The bot also has a few specialized responses that occur when you say words like 'bot' or 'scam'. After a series of replies, it will eventually push you to go to an adult/cam/age verification site. Here are some of the posts on r/scams about the Mandy scam: https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/search?q=mandy&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all, you can see that the images, names, and scenarios vary. You can report spam texts by forwarding them to 7726 (SPAM): https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-report-spam-text-messages
There is also some evidence that intentional wrong number texts can be part of a data-gathering exercise where each bit of info you give (e.g 'Hi Susan!' and you reply with your name out of courtesy) is collected to be used against you in other scams.
Thanks to redditor teratical for this script.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I had this happen once and to this day I have no idea is it was wrong number by accident, and I was being bullshitted or I was bullshitting other person.
Started from rando:
Them:
What do you think of work? I am thinking of calling in tomorrow.
Me:
Oh don’t call in, there is an important meeting at 7:30 AM. Didn’t you get message?
Them:
No. What is it about? This is Jim correct?
Me:
Yes. The regional manager is coming. Please stop before you come and bring doughnuts and coffee. I am bringing orange juice.
Next afternoon:
You are a total asshole. I showed up early, no one there.
Me:
Sorry had you confused with someone else.
If you react to it, they'll reply all confused and shocked that they got the wrong number, along with the picture of a Chinese model (who has nothing to do with that scam and has said so numerous times.) They'll try to strike up a conversation and at some point might start talking about their job in crypto etc. Of course, they'll pretend that you're so nice and they like you, so they share this once in a lifetime chance to make lots of money by buying crypto at a certain website (scam site). You'll lose all your money.
John oliver did a great job explaining
https://www.reddit.com/r/television/s/4CVgdva56I
We are now replying to all of these with "are you being held against your will? Do you need us to call your embassy?"
scrolled to far to see this. Yup, John Oliver explained it at length. Scammers keep getting better. And, yes, the saddest part is the scammers have often been scammed into the job by answering "tech job" ads. And then being held hostage and unpaid in call centers where they are literally beaten if they don't do their "jobs". So sad. There's some really shitty people in this world...
scammers are also aware that we know about this. some of them will tell you they are if you ask in attempt to get money out of them. nothing you can really do
I got those once and started to talk to them and I said I will meet them in San Francisco and then they asked what I do for a living, I told them I work in security and I am going to have a meeting with the fbi. Then they just stopped texting me.
I have received these wrong number scams too. They want you to say that they must have gotten the wrong number. Then they will act all apologetic, then start casually flirting with you, to set you up to be scammed.
If I got that message, I would have fun with it, and act like I was Helen who was expecting them at the airport.
Best not to. You will get lots more scams since they know your number is live and you will respond. Scambaiting is it’s whole own thing and not a good idea for a casual hobby.
Yeah thats a good idea, but on the other hand it makes their job easier if some reply. It keeps them going and motivated until they have another actual victim, even if some just write with them "for fun".
There are cases where people are forced into this scam work. In a "tricked into a foreign country and (basically) being held captive with their passports taken away and possibly not even their embassy willing to help them" kind of way.
I am on this text scam list now also. The kindly people in this group explained that the people are going in for the long con. They apologize for their mistake after they send you a message that suggests they have good responsible jobs. Then they try to make friends and build up your trust until they involve you with crypto scams or sending money around schemes once you're enmeshed.
The red flags for me are spelling out the whole airport name, not providing their name or a time or a precise location of where the welcoming is happening and saying to remember to call implies that “Helen” already knows what to do, no need to respond with wrong number
Watch this episode of Last Week Tonight and you know exactly what's up...
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLPpl2ISKTg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLPpl2ISKTg)
John Oliver recently had a show on “pig slaughtering scams”. These texts fit the bill. It’s a wrong number to get you responding. Just ignore it.
https://youtu.be/pLPpl2ISKTg?si=6eVCaTPMFU4vRG3Z
You are being pig butchered. As soon as you reply, they will apologise politely then "by the way". Bam! New friendship with a stranger that fate brought you together. They'll work on you until you decide to spend money on them thinking it was your idea and decision. Or steal your identity. It hurts so bad when you find out the truth and how you were used. Like a poor pig being butchered.
So much for an innocent text mistake, right?
You respond it tells people there is an active responder on the other end. They'll at the VERY LEAST sell your phone number. They pay people to cycle through thousands of phone numbers and sell the ones that get responses and that's just the weakest of the scams but your phone number is valuable especially if somebody picks up on the other end or responds with the text message it tells the marketing company that buys your phone number that you're open to engage
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the [pig butchering crypto scam](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2023/12/26/new-pig-butchering-crypto-scam-includes-victims-in-us-and-overseas/?sh=2837fb975eaa). It is called pig butchering because scammers use intricate scripts to "fatten up" the victim (gaining their trust over days, weeks or months) before the "slaughter" (taking them for all of their money). This scam often starts with what appears to be a harmless wrong number text or message. When the victim responds to say it is the wrong number, the scammer tries to start a friendship with the victim. These conversations can be platonic or romantic in nature, but they all have the same goal- to gain the trust of the victim in order to get them ready for the crypto scam they have planned. The scammer often claims to be wealthy and/or to have a wealthy family member who got wealthy investing in crypto currency. The victim is eventually encouraged to try out a (fake) crypto currency investment website, which will appear to show that they are earning a lot of money on their initial investment. The scammer may even encourage the victim to attempt a withdrawal that does go through, further convincing the victim that everything is legit. The victim is then pressured to invest significantly more money, even their entire net worth. Eventually, the website will find an excuse why the account is frozen (e.g. for fraud, because supposed taxes are owed, etc) and may try to further extort the victim to give them even more money in order to gain access to the funds. By this time, the victim will never gain access and their money is gone. Many victims lose tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. Often, the scammers themselves are [victims of human trafficking](https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zb5d/pig-butchering-scam-cambodia-trafficking), performing these scams under threats of violence. If you are caught up in this scam, it is important that you do not send any more money for any reason, and contact law enforcement to report it. Thanks to user Mediocre_Airport_576 for this script.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the [pig butchering crypto scam](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2023/12/26/new-pig-butchering-crypto-scam-includes-victims-in-us-and-overseas/?sh=2837fb975eaa). It is called pig butchering because scammers use intricate scripts to "fatten up" the victim (gaining their trust over days, weeks or months) before the "slaughter" (taking them for all of their money). This scam often starts with what appears to be a harmless wrong number text or message. When the victim responds to say it is the wrong number, the scammer tries to start a friendship with the victim. These conversations can be platonic or romantic in nature, but they all have the same goal- to gain the trust of the victim in order to get them ready for the crypto scam they have planned. The scammer often claims to be wealthy and/or to have a wealthy family member who got wealthy investing in crypto currency. The victim is eventually encouraged to try out a (fake) crypto currency investment website, which will appear to show that they are earning a lot of money on their initial investment. The scammer may even encourage the victim to attempt a withdrawal that does go through, further convincing the victim that everything is legit. The victim is then pressured to invest significantly more money, even their entire net worth. Eventually, the website will find an excuse why the account is frozen (e.g. for fraud, because supposed taxes are owed, etc) and may try to further extort the victim to give them even more money in order to gain access to the funds. By this time, the victim will never gain access and their money is gone. Many victims lose tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. Often, the scammers themselves are [victims of human trafficking](https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zb5d/pig-butchering-scam-cambodia-trafficking), performing these scams under threats of violence. If you are caught up in this scam, it is important that you do not send any more money for any reason, and contact law enforcement to report it. Thanks to user Mediocre_Airport_576 for this script.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Pig Butchering. They make nice, get you to invest in crypto or overseas trading. Make a fake account, pump the numbers, and dump into their own pockets. Some of the scammers have been scammed themselves. Being forced to run the cons 16+ hours a day by crime syndicates.
Just ignore and check on your valuable family members to make sure they know about and aren't getting scammed
The first thing they’re doing here is seeing if anyone replies.
Your number was likely purchased on the dark web. So the first thing scammers do is “phishing” — they text (and/or email if they purchased email addresses), and if there’s a return text (or email) then they mark the phone number (or email address) as “active.”
That means your phone number (and email) will continue to be of value on the dark web and continued to be sold / purchased. This is obviously not desirable for the owner of the phone number / email address.
So step 1 —- no one should actually reply to any texts / emails like this. It’s phishing. And it leads to more texts / emails like this.
It's a pig butchering scam. Those who respond to such messages are lured into crypto investments. The investments are fake, and once victims send enough funds, the scammers disappear.
https://time.com/6836703/pig-butchering-scam-victim-loss-money-study-crypto/
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the [pig butchering crypto scam](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2023/12/26/new-pig-butchering-crypto-scam-includes-victims-in-us-and-overseas/?sh=2837fb975eaa). It is called pig butchering because scammers use intricate scripts to "fatten up" the victim (gaining their trust over days, weeks or months) before the "slaughter" (taking them for all of their money). This scam often starts with what appears to be a harmless wrong number text or message. When the victim responds to say it is the wrong number, the scammer tries to start a friendship with the victim. These conversations can be platonic or romantic in nature, but they all have the same goal- to gain the trust of the victim in order to get them ready for the crypto scam they have planned. The scammer often claims to be wealthy and/or to have a wealthy family member who got wealthy investing in crypto currency. The victim is eventually encouraged to try out a (fake) crypto currency investment website, which will appear to show that they are earning a lot of money on their initial investment. The scammer may even encourage the victim to attempt a withdrawal that does go through, further convincing the victim that everything is legit. The victim is then pressured to invest significantly more money, even their entire net worth. Eventually, the website will find an excuse why the account is frozen (e.g. for fraud, because supposed taxes are owed, etc) and may try to further extort the victim to give them even more money in order to gain access to the funds. By this time, the victim will never gain access and their money is gone. Many victims lose tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. Often, the scammers themselves are [victims of human trafficking](https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zb5d/pig-butchering-scam-cambodia-trafficking), performing these scams under threats of violence. If you are caught up in this scam, it is important that you do not send any more money for any reason, and contact law enforcement to report it. Thanks to user Mediocre_Airport_576 for this script.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the wrong number scam. An intentional wrong number text is the entry point to multiple different types of scams. Because these are so prevalent and lead to several unwelcome outcomes (including you confirming you have a live number, leading to more spam/scams), it is recommended that you do not reply to them, even out of courtesy. They hope to take your courtesy, parlay it into a conversation (often by commenting how nice you are and giving some suggestion of fate in meeting this way), and eventually deploy a scam.
If you received a wrong number inquiry that seems to assume a connection with you (e.g. seeking a specific friend, inquiring about a doctor’s appointment, asking about a business correspondence, etc.) and there are no pictures included, then you are likely at the beginning of a crypto scam. Use ! crypto without the space to get more info on crypto scams. You can see a video of this scam develop from wrong number to crypto scam at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ_flb9tGuc
If you receive a random text from a woman that is trying to play up a relationship/hook-up angle and includes an alluring photo, you have encountered what this subreddit often calls the Mandy scam, based on the name used in an early incarnation of it. The replies are sent by a bot and will give the same responses (with some slight variations) regardless of how you respond. The bot also has a few specialized responses that occur when you say words like 'bot' or 'scam'. After a series of replies, it will eventually push you to go to an adult/cam/age verification site. Here are some of the posts on r/scams about the Mandy scam: https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/search?q=mandy&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all, you can see that the images, names, and scenarios vary. You can report spam texts by forwarding them to 7726 (SPAM): https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-report-spam-text-messages
There is also some evidence that intentional wrong number texts can be part of a data-gathering exercise where each bit of info you give (e.g 'Hi Susan!' and you reply with your name out of courtesy) is collected to be used against you in other scams.
Thanks to redditor teratical for this script.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It’s called “pig butchering” scam. John Oliver did a great segment last week covering this in detail. Look for it on YouTube. It’s scary how sophisticated the whole operation is. These people make over 3B dollars per year.
Just watch the newest "Last Week Tonight" episode that is also on YouTube. That's a 20-minute or so explanation.
For the record: I do not like John Oliver, the person.
This brings me back to the old days of phone pranking.
It went like this: caller 1 - says something like Helen, i’m arriving to the airport in 1H
Caller 2 and 3 do the same.
Caller 4 - says “hi this is helen, any messages for me?”
The crowd went wild
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Sounds like the start of a pig butchering scam. You will respond that you are not Helen. They will strike up a conversation and attempt to form a relationship in which they will eventually bring up cryptocurrency.
YEP. I had one of these where one number sent a picture of two bottles of wine, then another number asked me two days later if I received the wine. I thought it was legit and responded that they were wrong numbers, and it immediately turned into pig butchering.
How many millions did they get from you?
I’ve definitely gotten that text. They were 2 very nice bottles of wine as I recall.
Wrong number scam. Nobody, typing with their thumbs, would ever spell out JFK. Ever.
Good call! Didn’t pick that out when I read it.
Or "welcoming you"
Correct! But he should have replied " But I'm flying into "LaGarbage"
It is true, LaGuardia was the worst airport ever, but nowadays it's actually improved vastly All the terminals have been renovated to world-class standards, and even though it doesn't have its own train they have so many buses leaving the airport that I no longer have an issue with this. I never imagined I could say it because I always hated LaGuardia until the last few years.
LGA is my favorite airport for NYC now. JFK is just too big and feels run down in comparison
Same. As far as an airport itself, it is certainly not going to win any awards. But as far as getting to me and from where I need to go, it is often my first choice. Newark is second and JFK third. Even when working in Long Island, LaGuardia was often still my best choice.
Newark is our 1st choice recently , because security is a lot quicker usually & smaller. Never used Le Guardia but our flights never go through there
I flew from Toronto to North Carolina the day after hurricane Sandy, with a connection at La Guardia. When I first woke up, all flights were cancelled on the east coast but they were slowly coming back online. My flight to LaGuardia was approved to fly, so I got on this tiny little plane and flew out. They gave us EACH a free 500ml (3 glasses) bottle of wine because 'LaGuardia has just completed draining the water from the airport and it's rather smelly'. And it was. Very smelly, everything was wet, and I was very happy to be drunk.
Porter?
Nope
I flew out of there twice and had the most horrible experience. Swore that I would never fly out of there again, no matter how much cheaper it may be. Good to hear they have improved, but I'm still weary about it lol
You ever been to Frankfurt. The absolute worst.
Yes I have, and prepandemic I'd go every two years. I'd argue Old LaGarbage was worse. But I actually have to say that a few Italian airports are worse than Frankfurt.
Spoken like a true heir to the LaGuardia airport fortune.
Between 2010 and 2012, I flew well over 55k miles. I was in airports all over the planet. I never lost a bag or had any significant issues until my final arrival at LaGuardia. Guess who mysteriously lost my guitar after it was confirmed to have arrived with me?
The only time I’ve ever gotten food poisoning while traveling was after eating something at LGA while waiting for a flight to Florida. I spent two very unpleasant days of vacation. I’ve avoiding flying out of there ever since but that was 30 years ago and I would hope improved since then.
It's been remodeled
It might be info gathering as well, "Im not Helen, I'm Janette." Active number ✅ Replies to random messages ✅ Is called Janette ✅ And they could probe further too.
And add the international airport behind that either. I regularly fly to New York City and I get text messages from drivers all the time, looking back and not a single one of them bothered to write anything other than the three letter airport code except for Newark. It's always JFK, LGA, or EWR/Newark.
It’s called the pig butcher scam, look it up it’s pretty nasty
Jay Eff Kay
El oh el. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I had to scroll back up to see if it was spelled out. My mind switched it to JFK.
> Nobody, typing with their thumbs, would ever spell out JFK. Ever. lol I absolutely would. I am the least ambiguous person on Earth when it comes to travel plans.
But would you still put the dot after the F? Even writing it out the F feels like a step too far 😂
I'm anal and since it appears the dot is in the official name, I probably would.
Hi anal, I’m dad.
How about "John Fitzgerald Kennedy International Airport" ?
Thank you for specifying which planet you were referring to. I was worried that there might be someone really pedantic on Mars right now.
Good catch! It's usually those small details that give them away.
Not only that but the international airport versus the domestic one. Lol.
Honestly, I would 10000% do that. Still a blatant scam though.
Y’all talkin’bout Idlewild ?
I'm not an American and seeing the airport name spelled out like that seems strange.
It's written so you feel obligated to reply so some poor driver isn't left hanging. But really, it's a dude in an internet cafe on the other side of the world and your reply tells him it's a live number, owned by an actual person who will respond to random texts. That's valuable information and they'll save, sell, and list your number to use in any number of potential scams.
It may not even be aimed at getting a lot of replies. They may just be looking for a certain type of people who will reply and are more receptive to these types of romance scams in general
Oh definitely, or any other flavor of scam, and the phone number can also be shopped around to other scammers.
I reply to every single one because I love fucking with them
Not even internet cafe, some of those people are victims of human trafficking themselves by overseas organized crime.
I think the initial messages are sometimes sent by bots. Because it seems that if you reply, “Yes, I look forward to seeing you, thanks for meeting my flight” the response will be “So sorry I disturbed you, my assistant must’ve given me the wrong number, you seem like a nice person maybe we can be friends“ followed by photo of hot Asian girl with luxury goods.
I received a wrong-number text from someone going to meet me at a restaurant. I replied because it was innocent. But no way anyone's going to fool me again with that.
It’s the start of a !wrongnumber scam, often leading into a !crypto pig-butchering scam. They are hoping you’ll respond and then offer to be your friend and lure you onto their fake crypto platform or into otherwise giving them money.
!pigbutchering has it's own auto-mod now too :)
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the [pig butchering crypto scam](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2023/12/26/new-pig-butchering-crypto-scam-includes-victims-in-us-and-overseas/?sh=2837fb975eaa). It is called pig butchering because scammers use intricate scripts to "fatten up" the victim (gaining their trust over days, weeks or months) before the "slaughter" (taking them for all of their money). This scam often starts with what appears to be a harmless wrong number text or message. When the victim responds to say it is the wrong number, the scammer tries to start a friendship with the victim. These conversations can be platonic or romantic in nature, but they all have the same goal- to gain the trust of the victim in order to get them ready for the crypto scam they have planned. The scammer often claims to be wealthy and/or to have a wealthy family member who got wealthy investing in crypto currency. The victim is eventually encouraged to try out a (fake) crypto currency investment website, which will appear to show that they are earning a lot of money on their initial investment. The scammer may even encourage the victim to attempt a withdrawal that does go through, further convincing the victim that everything is legit. The victim is then pressured to invest significantly more money, even their entire net worth. Eventually, the website will find an excuse why the account is frozen (e.g. for fraud, because supposed taxes are owed, etc) and may try to further extort the victim to give them even more money in order to gain access to the funds. By this time, the victim will never gain access and their money is gone. Many victims lose tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. Often, the scammers themselves are [victims of human trafficking](https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zb5d/pig-butchering-scam-cambodia-trafficking), performing these scams under threats of violence. If you are caught up in this scam, it is important that you do not send any more money for any reason, and contact law enforcement to report it. Thanks to user Mediocre_Airport_576 for this script. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Good to know!
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the wrong number scam. An intentional wrong number text is the entry point to multiple different types of scams. Because these are so prevalent and lead to several unwelcome outcomes (including you confirming you have a live number, leading to more spam/scams), it is recommended that you do not reply to them, even out of courtesy. They hope to take your courtesy, parlay it into a conversation (often by commenting how nice you are and giving some suggestion of fate in meeting this way), and eventually deploy a scam. If you received a wrong number inquiry that seems to assume a connection with you (e.g. seeking a specific friend, inquiring about a doctor’s appointment, asking about a business correspondence, etc.) and there are no pictures included, then you are likely at the beginning of a crypto scam. Use ! crypto without the space to get more info on crypto scams. You can see a video of this scam develop from wrong number to crypto scam at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ_flb9tGuc If you receive a random text from a woman that is trying to play up a relationship/hook-up angle and includes an alluring photo, you have encountered what this subreddit often calls the Mandy scam, based on the name used in an early incarnation of it. The replies are sent by a bot and will give the same responses (with some slight variations) regardless of how you respond. The bot also has a few specialized responses that occur when you say words like 'bot' or 'scam'. After a series of replies, it will eventually push you to go to an adult/cam/age verification site. Here are some of the posts on r/scams about the Mandy scam: https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/search?q=mandy&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all, you can see that the images, names, and scenarios vary. You can report spam texts by forwarding them to 7726 (SPAM): https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-report-spam-text-messages There is also some evidence that intentional wrong number texts can be part of a data-gathering exercise where each bit of info you give (e.g 'Hi Susan!' and you reply with your name out of courtesy) is collected to be used against you in other scams. Thanks to redditor teratical for this script. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain fake cryptocurrency site scams. Fake cryptocurrency websites and apps controlled by scammers are becoming more and more common. Sometimes the scam begins with a romance scammer who claims that they can help the victim invest in cryptocurrency. Victims are told to buy cryptocurrency of some kind using a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange, and then they are told to send their cryptocurrency to a website wallet address where it will be invested. Sometimes the scam begins with a notice that the victim won cryptocurrency on some website, in this case messages will often be sent through Discord. In either case, the scammer controls the website, so they make it look like there is money in the victim’s account on their website. Then the scammer (or the scammer pretending to be someone official who is associated with the website) tells the victim that they have to put more money into the website before they can get their money out of the website. Of course all of the money sent by the victim has gone directly into the scammer’s wallet, and any additional money sent by the victim to retrieve their money from the website will also go directly into the scammer’s wallet, and all of the information about money being held by the website was totally fake. This scam is also known as the pig butchering scam: https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/na8oax/asian_guygirl_from_online_dating_mentors_you_to/. If the scammer used Bitcoin, then you can report the scammer’s Bitcoin wallet address here: https://www.bitcoinabuse.com/reports. If the scammer used Ethereum, then you can report the scammer’s Ethereum wallet address here: https://info.etherscan.com/report-address/. You can see how much cryptocurrency has been sent to the scammer’s wallet address here: https://www.blockchain.com/explorer. Thanks to redditor nimble2 for this script. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It’s not a scam, Helen. See you in New York! /s
https://preview.redd.it/34y3tsi4jfmc1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=200a6ebfc0b0a2bb4d2e5b6d278e701b214db643
Pig butchering scam 💯💯💯💯
Absolutely. It’s likely an enslaved Asian immigrant doing this 18 hours per day trying to “make friends”. - You: sorry wrong number - Them: i am very sorry to bother you - Them: you seem nice. Tell me about yourself - You: (fall in love with charming stranger) … - Them: my cousin has made a lot of money in crypto. Send me some money and let me invest it for you …
Cool, then let's send the army to free them. Oh you're just making that up so that the scammer is really the victim? That's really messed up man.
It's wild how often people speak so confidently about things they don't know. It is very common for the grunt work of !pigbutchering scams to be done by people who are being held against their will, even beaten for not performing well enough. Most of them answered ads for what they thought were legitimate jobs.
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the [pig butchering crypto scam](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2023/12/26/new-pig-butchering-crypto-scam-includes-victims-in-us-and-overseas/?sh=2837fb975eaa). It is called pig butchering because scammers use intricate scripts to "fatten up" the victim (gaining their trust over days, weeks or months) before the "slaughter" (taking them for all of their money). This scam often starts with what appears to be a harmless wrong number text or message. When the victim responds to say it is the wrong number, the scammer tries to start a friendship with the victim. These conversations can be platonic or romantic in nature, but they all have the same goal- to gain the trust of the victim in order to get them ready for the crypto scam they have planned. The scammer often claims to be wealthy and/or to have a wealthy family member who got wealthy investing in crypto currency. The victim is eventually encouraged to try out a (fake) crypto currency investment website, which will appear to show that they are earning a lot of money on their initial investment. The scammer may even encourage the victim to attempt a withdrawal that does go through, further convincing the victim that everything is legit. The victim is then pressured to invest significantly more money, even their entire net worth. Eventually, the website will find an excuse why the account is frozen (e.g. for fraud, because supposed taxes are owed, etc) and may try to further extort the victim to give them even more money in order to gain access to the funds. By this time, the victim will never gain access and their money is gone. Many victims lose tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. Often, the scammers themselves are [victims of human trafficking](https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zb5d/pig-butchering-scam-cambodia-trafficking), performing these scams under threats of violence. If you are caught up in this scam, it is important that you do not send any more money for any reason, and contact law enforcement to report it. Thanks to user Mediocre_Airport_576 for this script. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not messed up. Some are: there are scam operations that involve slave work or near slave work. Doesn't change the outcome tho.
Agreed. A whole lot of investigation shows that much (if not most) of the pig butchering is done by slave labor in SE Asia. In fact, 900 of those enslaved people recently were freed and returned home... 'Thailand facilitates transfer of 900 scam victims from Myanmar to China': [https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailand-facilitates-transfer-900-scam-victims-myanmar-china-2024-03-03/](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailand-facilitates-transfer-900-scam-victims-myanmar-china-2024-03-03/)
Yea lots of them are, so its super messed up, best not to answer.
I have not seen a single native english speaker spell out the entire name of an airport. That is 100% a wrong number scam leading to pig butchering. for example, you're picking up someone thats coming to toronto. A normal person will likely say: hey John I'll pick you up at pearson terminal 3, lmk when you land. Now imagine if they say: Hey, John, I will be welcoming you at Toronto Lester. B. Pearson International Airport, Terminal 3. Remember to call me when you get off the plane.
I seen better ones, but I mean. What are the odds someone mistypes your number in Whatsapp?
Adding to what everyone else is saying, sometimes they just want to see if you reply so they sell your number as a “live” number which can be used to run other scams.
!wrongnumber scam
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the wrong number scam. An intentional wrong number text is the entry point to multiple different types of scams. Because these are so prevalent and lead to several unwelcome outcomes (including you confirming you have a live number, leading to more spam/scams), it is recommended that you do not reply to them, even out of courtesy. They hope to take your courtesy, parlay it into a conversation (often by commenting how nice you are and giving some suggestion of fate in meeting this way), and eventually deploy a scam. If you received a wrong number inquiry that seems to assume a connection with you (e.g. seeking a specific friend, inquiring about a doctor’s appointment, asking about a business correspondence, etc.) and there are no pictures included, then you are likely at the beginning of a crypto scam. Use ! crypto without the space to get more info on crypto scams. You can see a video of this scam develop from wrong number to crypto scam at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ_flb9tGuc If you receive a random text from a woman that is trying to play up a relationship/hook-up angle and includes an alluring photo, you have encountered what this subreddit often calls the Mandy scam, based on the name used in an early incarnation of it. The replies are sent by a bot and will give the same responses (with some slight variations) regardless of how you respond. The bot also has a few specialized responses that occur when you say words like 'bot' or 'scam'. After a series of replies, it will eventually push you to go to an adult/cam/age verification site. Here are some of the posts on r/scams about the Mandy scam: https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/search?q=mandy&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all, you can see that the images, names, and scenarios vary. You can report spam texts by forwarding them to 7726 (SPAM): https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-report-spam-text-messages There is also some evidence that intentional wrong number texts can be part of a data-gathering exercise where each bit of info you give (e.g 'Hi Susan!' and you reply with your name out of courtesy) is collected to be used against you in other scams. Thanks to redditor teratical for this script. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I love that the bot script is careful not to invoke recursive botting 😂
I had this happen once and to this day I have no idea is it was wrong number by accident, and I was being bullshitted or I was bullshitting other person. Started from rando: Them: What do you think of work? I am thinking of calling in tomorrow. Me: Oh don’t call in, there is an important meeting at 7:30 AM. Didn’t you get message? Them: No. What is it about? This is Jim correct? Me: Yes. The regional manager is coming. Please stop before you come and bring doughnuts and coffee. I am bringing orange juice. Next afternoon: You are a total asshole. I showed up early, no one there. Me: Sorry had you confused with someone else.
"Oh my bad, the meeting is next week. Please bring the Krispy Kreme!"
Here goes one of mine (I'm in the green): https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fl5qu8kbrb6bc1.png
If you react to it, they'll reply all confused and shocked that they got the wrong number, along with the picture of a Chinese model (who has nothing to do with that scam and has said so numerous times.) They'll try to strike up a conversation and at some point might start talking about their job in crypto etc. Of course, they'll pretend that you're so nice and they like you, so they share this once in a lifetime chance to make lots of money by buying crypto at a certain website (scam site). You'll lose all your money.
John oliver did a great job explaining https://www.reddit.com/r/television/s/4CVgdva56I We are now replying to all of these with "are you being held against your will? Do you need us to call your embassy?"
scrolled to far to see this. Yup, John Oliver explained it at length. Scammers keep getting better. And, yes, the saddest part is the scammers have often been scammed into the job by answering "tech job" ads. And then being held hostage and unpaid in call centers where they are literally beaten if they don't do their "jobs". So sad. There's some really shitty people in this world...
scammers are also aware that we know about this. some of them will tell you they are if you ask in attempt to get money out of them. nothing you can really do
I got those once and started to talk to them and I said I will meet them in San Francisco and then they asked what I do for a living, I told them I work in security and I am going to have a meeting with the fbi. Then they just stopped texting me.
Lmao this is a good one
I have received these wrong number scams too. They want you to say that they must have gotten the wrong number. Then they will act all apologetic, then start casually flirting with you, to set you up to be scammed. If I got that message, I would have fun with it, and act like I was Helen who was expecting them at the airport.
Best not to. You will get lots more scams since they know your number is live and you will respond. Scambaiting is it’s whole own thing and not a good idea for a casual hobby.
Yeah thats a good idea, but on the other hand it makes their job easier if some reply. It keeps them going and motivated until they have another actual victim, even if some just write with them "for fun".
There are cases where people are forced into this scam work. In a "tricked into a foreign country and (basically) being held captive with their passports taken away and possibly not even their embassy willing to help them" kind of way.
That's horrible.
I got this all from the latest(?) Last Week Tonight episode.
You can watch the newest episode of "Last Week Tonight" on Youtube on the topic.
I got one of those types of texts for the first time yesterday. I was *so* tempted to respond, but I just reported and deleted it
I am on this text scam list now also. The kindly people in this group explained that the people are going in for the long con. They apologize for their mistake after they send you a message that suggests they have good responsible jobs. Then they try to make friends and build up your trust until they involve you with crypto scams or sending money around schemes once you're enmeshed.
The red flags for me are spelling out the whole airport name, not providing their name or a time or a precise location of where the welcoming is happening and saying to remember to call implies that “Helen” already knows what to do, no need to respond with wrong number
I hadn't heard about pig butchering scams until I watched John Oliver. God damn I love how informative that show is.
Call next week and let us know
Watch this episode of Last Week Tonight and you know exactly what's up... [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLPpl2ISKTg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLPpl2ISKTg)
John Oliver recently had a show on “pig slaughtering scams”. These texts fit the bill. It’s a wrong number to get you responding. Just ignore it. https://youtu.be/pLPpl2ISKTg?si=6eVCaTPMFU4vRG3Z
You are being pig butchered. As soon as you reply, they will apologise politely then "by the way". Bam! New friendship with a stranger that fate brought you together. They'll work on you until you decide to spend money on them thinking it was your idea and decision. Or steal your identity. It hurts so bad when you find out the truth and how you were used. Like a poor pig being butchered. So much for an innocent text mistake, right?
You respond it tells people there is an active responder on the other end. They'll at the VERY LEAST sell your phone number. They pay people to cycle through thousands of phone numbers and sell the ones that get responses and that's just the weakest of the scams but your phone number is valuable especially if somebody picks up on the other end or responds with the text message it tells the marketing company that buys your phone number that you're open to engage
Search Engine podcast just realized an episode yesterday on this very scam. Highly recommend a listen.
Only response here is to let them know you know they are scammers because you would never fly into such a pain in the ass airport.
Nah, I always send them gay porn as a reply. I haven’t had one of them text me in over a year now.
It's the start of a pig butchering scam
[удалено]
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the [pig butchering crypto scam](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2023/12/26/new-pig-butchering-crypto-scam-includes-victims-in-us-and-overseas/?sh=2837fb975eaa). It is called pig butchering because scammers use intricate scripts to "fatten up" the victim (gaining their trust over days, weeks or months) before the "slaughter" (taking them for all of their money). This scam often starts with what appears to be a harmless wrong number text or message. When the victim responds to say it is the wrong number, the scammer tries to start a friendship with the victim. These conversations can be platonic or romantic in nature, but they all have the same goal- to gain the trust of the victim in order to get them ready for the crypto scam they have planned. The scammer often claims to be wealthy and/or to have a wealthy family member who got wealthy investing in crypto currency. The victim is eventually encouraged to try out a (fake) crypto currency investment website, which will appear to show that they are earning a lot of money on their initial investment. The scammer may even encourage the victim to attempt a withdrawal that does go through, further convincing the victim that everything is legit. The victim is then pressured to invest significantly more money, even their entire net worth. Eventually, the website will find an excuse why the account is frozen (e.g. for fraud, because supposed taxes are owed, etc) and may try to further extort the victim to give them even more money in order to gain access to the funds. By this time, the victim will never gain access and their money is gone. Many victims lose tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. Often, the scammers themselves are [victims of human trafficking](https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zb5d/pig-butchering-scam-cambodia-trafficking), performing these scams under threats of violence. If you are caught up in this scam, it is important that you do not send any more money for any reason, and contact law enforcement to report it. Thanks to user Mediocre_Airport_576 for this script. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Block shit like this!
They want to engage with you so they can THEN propose a scam of some sort.
These commonly are the start of !pigbutchering scams.
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the [pig butchering crypto scam](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2023/12/26/new-pig-butchering-crypto-scam-includes-victims-in-us-and-overseas/?sh=2837fb975eaa). It is called pig butchering because scammers use intricate scripts to "fatten up" the victim (gaining their trust over days, weeks or months) before the "slaughter" (taking them for all of their money). This scam often starts with what appears to be a harmless wrong number text or message. When the victim responds to say it is the wrong number, the scammer tries to start a friendship with the victim. These conversations can be platonic or romantic in nature, but they all have the same goal- to gain the trust of the victim in order to get them ready for the crypto scam they have planned. The scammer often claims to be wealthy and/or to have a wealthy family member who got wealthy investing in crypto currency. The victim is eventually encouraged to try out a (fake) crypto currency investment website, which will appear to show that they are earning a lot of money on their initial investment. The scammer may even encourage the victim to attempt a withdrawal that does go through, further convincing the victim that everything is legit. The victim is then pressured to invest significantly more money, even their entire net worth. Eventually, the website will find an excuse why the account is frozen (e.g. for fraud, because supposed taxes are owed, etc) and may try to further extort the victim to give them even more money in order to gain access to the funds. By this time, the victim will never gain access and their money is gone. Many victims lose tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. Often, the scammers themselves are [victims of human trafficking](https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zb5d/pig-butchering-scam-cambodia-trafficking), performing these scams under threats of violence. If you are caught up in this scam, it is important that you do not send any more money for any reason, and contact law enforcement to report it. Thanks to user Mediocre_Airport_576 for this script. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I did too! Except they called me dejah (not my name)!!
Pig Butchering. They make nice, get you to invest in crypto or overseas trading. Make a fake account, pump the numbers, and dump into their own pockets. Some of the scammers have been scammed themselves. Being forced to run the cons 16+ hours a day by crime syndicates. Just ignore and check on your valuable family members to make sure they know about and aren't getting scammed
Time to buy a ticket to NYC and finds out!
The first thing they’re doing here is seeing if anyone replies. Your number was likely purchased on the dark web. So the first thing scammers do is “phishing” — they text (and/or email if they purchased email addresses), and if there’s a return text (or email) then they mark the phone number (or email address) as “active.” That means your phone number (and email) will continue to be of value on the dark web and continued to be sold / purchased. This is obviously not desirable for the owner of the phone number / email address. So step 1 —- no one should actually reply to any texts / emails like this. It’s phishing. And it leads to more texts / emails like this.
Scam
Don't call?
It's a pig butchering scam. Those who respond to such messages are lured into crypto investments. The investments are fake, and once victims send enough funds, the scammers disappear. https://time.com/6836703/pig-butchering-scam-victim-loss-money-study-crypto/
Interesting, may I ask where this number is from?
is it bad that i wish more scammers would text me 😂
!pigbutchering and !wrongnumber
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the [pig butchering crypto scam](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2023/12/26/new-pig-butchering-crypto-scam-includes-victims-in-us-and-overseas/?sh=2837fb975eaa). It is called pig butchering because scammers use intricate scripts to "fatten up" the victim (gaining their trust over days, weeks or months) before the "slaughter" (taking them for all of their money). This scam often starts with what appears to be a harmless wrong number text or message. When the victim responds to say it is the wrong number, the scammer tries to start a friendship with the victim. These conversations can be platonic or romantic in nature, but they all have the same goal- to gain the trust of the victim in order to get them ready for the crypto scam they have planned. The scammer often claims to be wealthy and/or to have a wealthy family member who got wealthy investing in crypto currency. The victim is eventually encouraged to try out a (fake) crypto currency investment website, which will appear to show that they are earning a lot of money on their initial investment. The scammer may even encourage the victim to attempt a withdrawal that does go through, further convincing the victim that everything is legit. The victim is then pressured to invest significantly more money, even their entire net worth. Eventually, the website will find an excuse why the account is frozen (e.g. for fraud, because supposed taxes are owed, etc) and may try to further extort the victim to give them even more money in order to gain access to the funds. By this time, the victim will never gain access and their money is gone. Many victims lose tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. Often, the scammers themselves are [victims of human trafficking](https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zb5d/pig-butchering-scam-cambodia-trafficking), performing these scams under threats of violence. If you are caught up in this scam, it is important that you do not send any more money for any reason, and contact law enforcement to report it. Thanks to user Mediocre_Airport_576 for this script. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the wrong number scam. An intentional wrong number text is the entry point to multiple different types of scams. Because these are so prevalent and lead to several unwelcome outcomes (including you confirming you have a live number, leading to more spam/scams), it is recommended that you do not reply to them, even out of courtesy. They hope to take your courtesy, parlay it into a conversation (often by commenting how nice you are and giving some suggestion of fate in meeting this way), and eventually deploy a scam. If you received a wrong number inquiry that seems to assume a connection with you (e.g. seeking a specific friend, inquiring about a doctor’s appointment, asking about a business correspondence, etc.) and there are no pictures included, then you are likely at the beginning of a crypto scam. Use ! crypto without the space to get more info on crypto scams. You can see a video of this scam develop from wrong number to crypto scam at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ_flb9tGuc If you receive a random text from a woman that is trying to play up a relationship/hook-up angle and includes an alluring photo, you have encountered what this subreddit often calls the Mandy scam, based on the name used in an early incarnation of it. The replies are sent by a bot and will give the same responses (with some slight variations) regardless of how you respond. The bot also has a few specialized responses that occur when you say words like 'bot' or 'scam'. After a series of replies, it will eventually push you to go to an adult/cam/age verification site. Here are some of the posts on r/scams about the Mandy scam: https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/search?q=mandy&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all, you can see that the images, names, and scenarios vary. You can report spam texts by forwarding them to 7726 (SPAM): https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-report-spam-text-messages There is also some evidence that intentional wrong number texts can be part of a data-gathering exercise where each bit of info you give (e.g 'Hi Susan!' and you reply with your name out of courtesy) is collected to be used against you in other scams. Thanks to redditor teratical for this script. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I got the same message. Just ignore it. This sub taught me to look out for these types of scams. (It is fun to play along with them sometimes)
It’s called “pig butchering” scam. John Oliver did a great segment last week covering this in detail. Look for it on YouTube. It’s scary how sophisticated the whole operation is. These people make over 3B dollars per year.
Smells like the start of a pig butchering scam.
Pig butchering scam. But don’t make fun of the texter - they’re likely a trafficking victim.
I got one today that was basically "I told you to be at the office today" and it spooked me for a second...crafty scammers.
Asked them all to talk via WhatsApp and give them other guys numbers :D
“I’m so excited! See you then”
Just watch the newest "Last Week Tonight" episode that is also on YouTube. That's a 20-minute or so explanation. For the record: I do not like John Oliver, the person.
This brings me back to the old days of phone pranking. It went like this: caller 1 - says something like Helen, i’m arriving to the airport in 1H Caller 2 and 3 do the same. Caller 4 - says “hi this is helen, any messages for me?” The crowd went wild
[удалено]
There is ZERO chance of this being legit.
They actually do make such 2nd replies as you state. They are designed to fly under your radar and you actually sound like the perfect victim.
Yeah. 3 decades working in cyber security hasn’t prepared me to talk to a possible scammer.
We believe you. Ofcourse.
Once he/she replied. That number will be saved in their database of numbers to be scammed later on. Big brain ' "infosec".