As the world of digitalisation evolves, so do scams. From phishing emails, fake websites, cryptocurrency scams or identity theft or so on, the digital landscape offers ample opportunities for scammers to prey on unsuspecting individuals as well as organisations.
Moreover, the speed and the anonymity afforded by the digital world make it very easier for scammers to operate even across the borders.
Recently, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of Paytm, shared a post on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, with the caption, "You won’t stop till you read this full thread !"
In his post, Sharma shared a tweet from an X user named Chetty Arun (@ChettyArun), who recounted his experience of speaking with a scammer and shared screenshots of the conversation on the WhatsApp messages that he had with the scammer.
Arun, wrote in his X post, "I spoke with yet another scammer today. I don't know why I do this, but here we go. It all started with a few annoying WhatsApp messages trying to scam me. But we ended up wishing each other good luck."
Conversation with the X User and the Scammer
A peculiar encounter with a scammer took an unexpected turn for Arun Chetty, who found himself engaging in a bizarre yet enlightening conversation with a would-be fraudster. It all started with a WhatsApp messags peddling dubious APK files.
Arun recounted in his X post, "I spoke with yet another scammer today. I don't know why I do this, but here we go. It all started with a few annoying Whatsapp messages trying to scam me. But we ended up wishing each other good luck."
'I got 4-5 such messages from different numbers today. All sending me an APK file on WhatsApp. I got annoyed at first. Blocked all those numbers. But this one particular one, I decided to call and bash him," he added.
Screenshot shared by Arun in his X post of the WhatsApp conversation between the two |
Much to Arun's surprise, the exchange continued from confrontation to an oddly pleasing chat. Amid discussions about the potential dangers of clicking on such files and the mechanics of scamming, Arun found himself teaching the scammer the meaning of "gossip."
"Oh, while doing all this bakkar, I also was teaching him what 'Gossip' meant," Arun added.
As the conversation continued, the scammer, dubbed "Scammy McScammer" by Arun, shared insights into the nefarious world of scamming. From hacking WhatsApp accounts to exploiting access to bank and ecommerce apps, the scammer revealed the alarming extent of damage that could be inflicted with just a victim's phone number.
"First, take over WhatsApp of the victim. Second, try installing all ecommerce and bank apps and sign up. OTP anyway comes to them. Once they have access to any such apps, sky is the limit," Arun detailed in his post.
"While Scammy McScammer was doing wrong things, he was a kind-hearted guy," Arun added.
In an ironic twist, Scammy McScammer, perhaps seeking redemption in his own way, urged Arun to spread awareness about the results of such scams.
"Now, while Scammy McScammer is doing something bad, he still wanted me to spread this message and warn people out there," Arun added.
"We finally ended by wishing each other," Arun concluded, highlighting, "Now, while Scammy McScammer is doing something bad he still wanted me to spread this message and warn people out there."
Arun, in addition to these series of posts, sharing the conversation between the scammer, also posted:
1. Don't ever click on these APK files. Especially tell elders in your family. Once they have access, it's easy to get more victim leads from WhatsApp
2. Whenever someone installs that APK by mistake, tell them to reset everything
