I’d like to think I’m fairly savvy when it comes to online scams. I use strong passwords and 2FA, I lock down my privacy settings on social media apps, I never click on dodgy links or open random attachments, etc.
Yesterday an old college friend reconnected with me on Messenger and we started catching up. It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve seen them, but we’ve been FB friends for as long as I can remember.
They brought up various specific events from our past, not the kind of thing you could have guessed from reading someone’s FB timeline (not that I post anything these days anyway).
It was all going well, and then they started with a sob story about how they’ve been hit with a big bill and needed £20 to tide them over until pay day.
Now, most of my friends are fairly affluent so this kind of story would never wash, but with this particular friend, it could be plausible.
Obviously my spidey senses start to tingle, especially when they were so keen for me to send them my bank details so they could “pay me back asap.”
My curiosity got the better of me and I said ok, and they sent over their info.
Everything checked out - the sort code matched a branch in the town where they live. My bank said their account name matched the account and sort code.
Of course, I didn’t send them any money - they’re now blocked and reported on FB, and I’ve informed their bank.
What I can’t work out is whether it was a scammer who has hacked my friend’s account, or whether it was actually them and they’re involved in some sort of Money Mule situation.
If it was a scammer, they must have been using Messenger to talk to mutual friends to gather enough stories to come across as genuine, but how did they open a bank account in my friend’s name in their home town? It all seems very elaborate.
My biggest concern is that they now have information about me that they could use to convince other mutual friends that they’re genuine - maybe friends that aren’t so sceptical.
Anyone come across anything like this before?
Yesterday an old college friend reconnected with me on Messenger and we started catching up. It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve seen them, but we’ve been FB friends for as long as I can remember.
They brought up various specific events from our past, not the kind of thing you could have guessed from reading someone’s FB timeline (not that I post anything these days anyway).
It was all going well, and then they started with a sob story about how they’ve been hit with a big bill and needed £20 to tide them over until pay day.
Now, most of my friends are fairly affluent so this kind of story would never wash, but with this particular friend, it could be plausible.
Obviously my spidey senses start to tingle, especially when they were so keen for me to send them my bank details so they could “pay me back asap.”
My curiosity got the better of me and I said ok, and they sent over their info.
Everything checked out - the sort code matched a branch in the town where they live. My bank said their account name matched the account and sort code.
Of course, I didn’t send them any money - they’re now blocked and reported on FB, and I’ve informed their bank.
What I can’t work out is whether it was a scammer who has hacked my friend’s account, or whether it was actually them and they’re involved in some sort of Money Mule situation.
If it was a scammer, they must have been using Messenger to talk to mutual friends to gather enough stories to come across as genuine, but how did they open a bank account in my friend’s name in their home town? It all seems very elaborate.
My biggest concern is that they now have information about me that they could use to convince other mutual friends that they’re genuine - maybe friends that aren’t so sceptical.
Anyone come across anything like this before?
