Man avoids WhatsApp scam by asking just one clever question 
Key Highlights
- A man outsmarted a WhatsApp scammer by asking just one clever question
- Screenshots of the chat have now been circulated online
- Michael Griffiths received messages from a person who was posing as his stepdaughter.
WhatsApp scams have seen a massive surge in the past few years and scammers now have the potential of stealing your personal information and bank balance in just a few seconds.
Almost every day, deceiving messages on the app cost people tens of thousands as scammers contact them by impersonating family members or friends.
Due to this, authorities and private companies put out advisories on a regular basis to alert mobile phone users about cybercriminals.
But a little sharpness of the mind can outsmart almost all devious tactics employed by scammers. This has been recently proved by a man who avoided a £900 (Rs 91,000) by asking just one clever question.
Michael Griffiths received some messages from a person who asked him for cash after posing as his stepdaughter.
After a few exchanges, just one question from Michael floored the scammer who quickly left the chat without a final reply.
The chat began with the scammer posing as Sophie, Michael’s stepdaughter, saying she had lost her phone and was using ad ‘old number’. It didn’t take long before the person started asking for money from Michael.
After asking for £900, the scammer was taken aback when Michael asked if her stepdaughter’s mother should call the ‘lost phone’ in order to locate it. To this, the scammer said the ‘battery is dead’ and the phone can’t ring as it’s very old.
After telling the scamster he can only transfer £400, Michael asked: “What’s your middle name Soph?”
When the scammer replied ‘why?’, Michael wrote: “So I know it’s you Soph.”
At this point, the person stopped replying.
The screenshots of the conversation were circulated online after Michael’s stepson shared it on his social media account.
Michael now wants to raise awareness about WhatsApp scams so others don’t fall to such tactics.
“When I was reading it with Mike, I thought it was my sister and then we found out it was a scam, I just thought that’s definitely going to get someone,” said Michael’s stepson.
