Don’t talk to strangers 

It was 1987. I was a junior in high school. And one of my best friends lived over an hour away. If I had owned a car that is. It was 1987 and I had no job and no car. But I really wanted to see my friend. So, I did what any other kid in high school in 1987 would do. I hitchhiked.  

For high school kids in the ’80s that wasn’t too big of a deal. It still wasn’t as safe as it had been during the 60’s and 70’s. But still the risk was low. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d hitchhiked either. I had been doing it for over a year. And I met some interesting people along the way.  

So not only did I talk to strangers, I got into their car with them. I heard their stories, and they heard mine. Then they dropped me off and we promptly forgot about each other. Now, I knew about stranger danger. Every kid who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s knew this. But that didn’t really seem to apply to me. And after all, it always turned out fine. Except for the time I got shot. With a fire extinguisher. From the passenger of a would-be free ride. 

These days the story is different. People mostly don’t hitchhike any more. But sadly, the warning to shun conversations with strangers is still ignored. Because we’re nice. 

If you have ever received a text message from a “wrong number” you’ve been had. They aren’t wrong numbers. They are shotgun blasting messages to thousands of potential good numbers and waiting for a response. So, let’s look at the anatomy of a “wrong number” text message. We’ll use the experience of a real victim but change the name for privacy’s sake.  

“Robert” receives a text message from a number not in his contact list. “Hi, did you enjoy the movie?” the message begins. “Who is this?” Robert replies. This is his first mistake. By responding, Robert has confirmed his number is valid. “This is Annie. Is this Frank?” Here is “Annies” first bait. By picking a random name, “she” is playing on Robert’s urge to correct her. So, he does, “no, this is Robert.” Now the scammer knows 2 things, the number is valid and that his name is Robert. At this point “Annie” can do a reverse lookup on the phone number and get Robert’s last name. With that she can look him up on social media. 

With the frightening amount of data, we willingly post to social media, “Annie” can get enough info to encourage Robert to continue the conversation. At some point, “Annie” will take the photos she gets from Robert’s social media account, alter them with Generative AI and potentially use them to blackmail Robert.  

It sounds far-fetched. But this happens thousands of times per day. All over the world. So, listen to your mother. Don’t talk to strangers. Set your phone to silence calls from those not in your contact list. Let the calls go to voicemail. And for texts, swipe left then select delete and block. Answering a call or text from a “wrong number” is like hitchhiking. Don’t do it. We don’t live in 1987 anymore.