Am I missing out on some great opportunities?
Pretty much everybody these days is aware of the Nigerian prince email scam. What a lot of people don't know, perhaps, is this is a centuries-old ruse.
Long before the internet, this was carried out by snail mail. Basically, a wrongfully imprisoned person of nobility offers to share their vast wealth if you'll just front them the cash to bribe their way out of their situation.
It's also known as the advance fee fraud or 419 fraud, which references the Nigerian criminal code as the country was a hotbed of online fraud in the early days of the internet.
Recently, I have been inundated with what I can only assume are scam texts. They even have a name for it, smishing. This comes from phishing, which is the email equivalent, and SMS, because it's via SMS text.
Here are a few I've received just in the past week, all from different area codes including Rhode Island, Connecticut, California, Massachusetts and Ontario:
"Did you enjoy the party yesterday?"
"Are you free for dinner next weekend?"
"Do you have time to watch a movie this afternoon?"
"What are you up to these days?"
"Are you still at work now? I have something to tell you."
I have to admit, some of these are pretty clever, because they sound like the kinds of things your friends might text you. If you were distracted enough, you might engage only to be drawn into something nefarious.
Block, block, block, block, block.
The most clever are perhaps the ones that just said "Hey" and "Hi."
Again, if you weren't paying attention, you might offhandedly respond to a hey or a hi.
Block. block.
I also get the so-called recruitment texts.
"Hi this is Holly from BeaconHillStaffing a telework chance perfect for you has opened up. Shall we discuss?
She gives a name and references a legitimate business, but not one that I have ever had any dealings with.
If I was looking for telework, I might be tempted. But even then, how the heck am I supposed to know if it's not just a ploy? And, if they actually knew who I was and had something "perfect" for me, wouldn't they contact me in some other way than a random text message?
Maybe not a scam, but definitely a nuisance.
Block.
And speaking of nuisances, I'm afraid we're in for a lot of them in the next couple of months with the B.C. election just around the corner. Political robotexts seem to be all the rage.
Perhaps I will be spared since I do not have a B.C. area code for my phone. I still get them from Saskatchewan, though.
I got this one a few days ago: "HI it's Leah from the Saskatchewan Party."
Then this one a couple of days later from the same number.
"Hi it's Jane again from the Saskatchewan Party."
Jane again? I thought it was Leah before.
Block!
