The first known British case was reported in the media recently (Saturday 21 Jan) – an expat couple living in Spain lost nearly 1 million Euros sending their life savings to a supposed broker to invest in high yield bonds. Only it turned out the website they’d seen was a fake. They lost everything.
Victims tend to be vulnerable, often older people – that British couple were in their seventies – who have accrued savings worth targeting but who may also be lonely or cut off which makes them more likely to respond to friendly overtures. But the young can be affected too: one woman in the US was taken for $8 million while still in her twenties.
So how can we protect ourselves and our loved ones? How can we stop ourselves or our loved ones, in effect, from becoming the pig?
Well, what’s infuriating for my colleagues at TMT Analysis and me about all this is that it could be prevented very easily. The number that that initial “great to see you last night” message comes from – or the number that that new romantic interest is messaging you from – will instantly tell whether the sender is genuine or not.
Most people have the same relationship with their phone number as with their home address – or an even more lasting one. They keep it with them. They guard it jealously.
Using telecom data, we can see in a fraction of a second that phone number’s user history and what it’s connected to. And the phone numbers from the pig butchers? They’ll be burner phones with no history – an instant tell that the holder is a scammer.
So, if you have access to this kind of security service, for goodness sake use it: never take anyone at face value and check the number they are using every time.
If you don’t, then just keep reminding yourself – and your loved ones, especially older ones – that no one can be taken at face value online. Trust no one. It’s a grim fact but it’s better to be cynical than to be a victim.
