I did this for years against a series of scam emails that kept getting through my spam filter somehow.
Then I found out there’s a guy with the same first and last name as me, with an extremely similar email address. So “real” people had been getting his email address wrong, and I was trolling his would-be clients. 💀
I have a fairly unusual, albeit not unheard of, first name. As far as I can tell, I’m sharing my first and last name with 5 or so people in the US. Back in 2008 or so I nabbed first.last@gmail.com (I also own www.firstlast.com haha). Every so often one of my brethren will use my email at dicks sporting goods or something. I always finish activating the account for them and sign them up for text alerts or something. Nothing evil. I figure they can just reply “stop” to opt out.
Sucks to be them lol
I’ve had someone repeatedly put my email as their spouse’s email in important situations. I’ve replied multiple times asking them to stop but they keep doing it.
I have the same name as their spouse, but you’d think you’d know your spouse’s email, or at least talk to them about it when you get a reply saying it was the wrong email!
Oh my… I had a slightly similar incident. New phone number, had a bunch of random strangers texting me (some even calling!) asking for Ethan. My name is not Ethan, I didn’t know who Ethan is
No idea what was on my mind back then, but I somehow got the contact info of this mysterious Ethan, called him (hilarity ensued since he got a call from someone on his contact list named “Me”), confirmed his up-to-date number, and promptly referred everyone looking for Ethan to the real person for over a year…
Life is strange sometimes
Somehow that’s even funnier 😂
An exchange with a scam texter and my kid.
On one hand, I don’t want to believe any 8 year old has a phone and has that colorful of language.
On the other hand, “chuck e cheese will eat you man” with a tenor gif of chuck e cheese is 100% a statement an 8 year old would come up with
Unfortunately my parenting has resulted in an 8-year-old that has both a phone and a vocabulary like that. To be fair, he’s autistic and we use the phone as a homing device so he can play in the neighborhood more independently.
Hahaha my niece is younger than that and speaks like a sailor, there are more important things in life than to patrol colorful language of children used within the context of trolling scammers
I mean, that wouldn’t bother me as long as they aren’t getting in trouble for it. Our schools around here are very, very strict on language, and I don’t even understand why. I went to these schools too lol.
I used to fuck with these people until I saw that John Oliver about them and found out many are doing this against their will
I’d like to hope maybe the scammer at least had a laugh. I’m sure they get much worse replies.
Nobody replied. If I’m wrong, I apologize Joanne, wherever you are.
Poor Joanne, she probably now experiences night-mares from the screams.
Clarice, have the lambs stopped screaming?
Do horses scream?
Nay.
Everything screams if you try hard enough
Sort of?
Welp, those other horses should’ve stayed out of her shed.
How does this scam work?
Wrong number scam. Which will turn into a romance or pig butchering scam.
John Oliver did a nice explanation
Basically they pretend to have the wrong number, but then start chatting with you, gain your trust over a period of months, and then ask you for money or similar.
No one really likes Joanne so they just pretend to be nice to her to get access to her horses. Oh how the tables have turned
I’ve heard a lot of these people are slaves in unstable countries making money for mafia. It is doubly tragic that when people try and troll “pig butchering” scammers, they are often also bullying a victim.
This wasn’t bullying though. Maybe I brought that poor soul a laugh.
