By David Trinko
The Lima News
I know Shirley didn’t pass along my cell phone number to give you an update on that dress for your dinner party. I don’t think I know anyone named Shirley.
I didn’t buy any lipstick recently, so I can’t tell you what brand or color it might be.
I’m absolutely certain we didn’t match on a dating site, since I’m happily married and not registered on any dating sites.
These are just three of the text messages I almost sent to total strangers in the past month.
In the past 30 days, I received nine text messages from unknown people, trying to engage me in a conversation that probably would’ve ended up with them trying to steal my identity. That accounts for 16% of the message chains in my phone, I learned while analyzing my text message usage.
The Better Business Bureau warns that innocent “wrong number texts” could actually be a scam bot, trying to gather whatever information it can from you in the latest effort to separate you from your hard-earned money.
“If you receive a text from someone you don’t know, simply don’t reply,” according to a BBB article. “It’s the safest route. If you engage with a scammer, even briefly, they will mark your number as active, and you could receive even more shady texts in the future.”
It’s my fault I’m on one of those lists. Last summer while mowing my lawn, I received a text message from a woman claiming to be from Florida trying to reach her veterinarian with a doggie emergency. I responded I wasn’t her veterinarian, and she should call her vet’s office directly immediately. After a handful of texts back and forth, she claimed I seemed like a nice guy and wanted to know more about me. That’s when I cut off communication and blocked the number.
Unfortunately, I think my friendliness put me on some kind of “sucker list.” I get a few of these stray messages a week now, intertwined with updates from my kids, automated messages from schools and a plethora of two-factor authorization numbers.
It’s a bit sad. For a while, text messages were my go-to form of communication. They’re short and concise, and the other side can respond whenever it’s convenient. I loved them. I enjoyed getting the ding on my phone with some new correspondence from someone I knew.
It’s the same way I felt about a landline when I got my first one, before marketers and scammers learned the number and started hawking their wares. I felt that way about email too, before the bulk of mine became automated marketing and spam.
The mobile phone became my respite for more than a decade. Now those scam calls are just as likely to ring in my pocket, and they’ve crawled into my text messages. In my personal analysis, I discovered I only appreciated getting 49% of the text messages I received in the past 30 days.
Sometimes I have to look at them twice, though, for the sheer randomness:
• “What is the name of the lipstick you bought yesterday? I forgot it.”
• “When will the dress Shirley made for me arrive? Because I have a dinner party next week. I have not received my dress.”
• “Hi, I have number in my address book but no name, what is your name?”
• “I’ve got some exciting news that could really help you out! Because of your excellent payment history and the current market conditions, we’ve got a fantastic opportunity for you.”
I obeyed the experts and didn’t respond to any of those.
In a moment of weakness, I did slip up and respond to one that sent me four short messages, including, “We matched on a dating site. Can we chat?”
I responded, “No, we didn’t. Leave me alone, scammer.”
If you really are a human being who wants to send me text messages, I do enjoy them. All you have to do is send them to 419-233-…
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See past columns by David Trinko at LimaOhio.com/tag/trinko.
David Trinko is editor of The Lima News. Reach him at 567-242-0467, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
