"Hey is this Julie?"
If you've ever gotten that mysterious "wrong number" text, they’re probably looking for Julie.
Ever get that strange text saying, “Hey, is this Julie?” It’s annoying, predictable, and shockingly effective… even for stable geniuses with an IQ of 83. If you reply to the text, you’re confirming your number is active. Congrats, you just made an open invitation for scammers to lure you onto the WhatsApps and then go in for the kill where they’ll have you sending them millions in Target gift cards (or if you are like me, expired gift cards because…artist’s salary).
Who’s Behind It?
Organized groups like the “Smishing Triad” thrive in regions with weak cybercrime laws (think Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe). Like the 7 Slavic dwarves, they mine your number from data breaches, public directories, or the time you sacrificed privacy to see Aunt Peepaw’s boobies, free on that particular site with 1000 pop-up ads (and then you have to tell your wife “oh uh, that’s a…virus”). Yep, you know what you did and for that, I’m giving you a hashtag of #JesusSawThatAndHeIsDisgusted
Life is like a box of stupid
Scammers prey on stupidty and cruelty curiosity and politeness—two things Americans excel at (bahahaha, omg… we’re about as polite as a raccoon on meth, Sugar, bless your heart). How much? $330 million lost to text scams in 2022 alone (some of yall are some dumb motherscratchers). If we’re this gullible, maybe I should start selling jars of Baby Jesus inhaled air—handcrafted and blessed by Aunt Peepaw herself.
Scammit, Janet
One of my favorite hobbies, second only to sharing my artwork, is Nickelback Kareoke wasting scammers’ time (yes, I have issues if that’s not painfully clear). Every minute I keep them busy is a minute they’re not scamming someone like Aunt Peepaw out of her life savings (which she’s been squandering away tithing to Joel Osteen and the GOP SuperPAC for years, bless her heart).
Here’s a gem from a recent text exchange I had with a scammer. Enjoy
Conclusion
Y’all, don’t fall for these scams. Technology is changing fast—AI especially—making it harder to separate bots from humans. Stay sharp. Aunt Peepaw’s social security checks are counting on you.
Oh and Julie? I have no idea who Julie is, but you should check my awesomely talented artist buddy, Julie at her IG channel: https://www.instagram.com/juliebedrawing?igsh=bmMxYjBudmFsMXpz (And, Julie, bless your heart, I bet you thought this article was going to be about you)
A Word From Dr. Wife
Heather is a geriatrician and palliative care physician and takes care of “the olds” like Aunt Peepaw. She is the editor and my only V.C. for this newsletter. So she chimes in often and when she wants.
Heather’s additional PSA: These scammers target vulnerable and cognitively impaired people who have an even more difficult time keeping up with the increasingly sophisticated ploys. Keep an eye out for the folks in your circle who might fall victim to these scams. Warn them, help protect them if you can, and report to the appropriate authorities. https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-frauds-and-scams/elder-fraud
Citations
"Hey, is this Julie?" Text Scam: This scam verifies active numbers for further targeting. New York Post: http://nypost.com/2024/10/12/lifestyle/these-3-words-in-texts-mean-youre-being-scammed-heres-why-you-should-delete-it-immediately
$330 Million Lost to Text Scams in 2022: Americans reported significant financial losses to text scams last year. Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/data-visualizations/data-spotlight/2023/06/iykyk-top-text-scams-2022
Data Breaches as a Source: Scammers leverage stolen data from breaches to target individuals. Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/data-visualizations/data-spotlight/2023/06/iykyk-top-text-scams-2022
AI Advancing Scam Sophistication: Scammers increasingly use AI to make their schemes more convincing. Wired: http://www.wired.com/story/ai-imprompter-malware-llm
Global Scam Operations: Weak international cybercrime laws allow scams to thrive in regions like Southeast Asia. The Australian: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/inside-asias-online-scam-factories-torture-slavery-rape-and-australians-losing-millions
Protecting Vulnerable Populations: Vigilance is essential to shield vulnerable groups like the elderly from fraud. Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/06/new-ftc-data-analysis-shows-bank-impersonation-most-reported-text-message-scam
One of my favorite ways to waste their time is to start reciting a fake credit card number and then, before the last four digits, I say it's the wrong card- I have to get a different one. You can do this over and over and over again and they eventually lose their shit and call you something like a "mother chode." Great stuff. You're going the lord's work.
Several thoughts!
1) This is the most helpful, informative edition you’ve written so far, and you also kept it funny, which is very impressive!! I loved it!!!
2) Roll, Tide in the context of this subject had *me rolling* on the floor, dying!
3) Heather sounds awesome, we’d probably be best friends.
4) I’ll never fall for these scams because I’ve read and watched too many murder mysteries so I know how this ending goes, and sometimes more goes missing than just money!!!