Don't Troll the Scam Texts. You're Only Helping the Scammers. [View all]
We’ve all been there. The text comes through at exactly the worst time: while you’re unloading groceries, racing out the door or about to shut it all down for bed. “Your package requires a redelivery fee,” it reads. Or “Unpaid toll notice.” Sometimes it’s a stranger asking whether you’re still on for dinner tomorrow night.
Most people delete the message without thinking much about it. Others report it as junk and move on. But there’s a certain kind of person who sees a scam text (called “smishing”) not as a threat but as a fun opportunity. Instead of blocking the number, they answer with a fake identity. They drag the conversation out for minutes, making ridiculous assertions. Maybe they send absurd memes or intentionally confusing replies. The goal is to waste the scammer’s time, and have a laugh doing it.
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The problem, cybersecurity researchers say, is that your trolling may be giving the scammer exactly what they want.
“It seems innocent, but you don’t know what’s happening in the background,” says Mayra Rosario Fuentes, a senior threat researcher at the consumer digital-protection research firm TrendLife. Even if you’re only giving fake information and never click a link, “you are telling the scammer that this phone number is active, and its owner is willing to engage,” Rosario Fuentes says. That likely puts your number up for sale on the dark web, providing fresh meat for other scammers.
Suzanne Sando, a lead analyst in fraud management at Javelin Strategy & Research, says people often underestimate how much information can be pieced together from what feels like harmless conversation. “When someone engages, they may unintentionally confirm pieces of their identity,” she says. “Where they work. Whether they have a spouse. Maybe where their kids go to school.”
Even small details can be revealing. The hour you engage with a fraudulent text may expose your time zone or schedule. A casual joke might hint at your age. A mention of travel plans can become useful later. Even replying “STOP” to a smishing text can increase the number of scam messages you receive, because it confirms someone is actively using the phone number.
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https://www.wsj.com/tech/cybersecurity/text-scams-trolling-1f98880e?st=q5TdMa&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
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