Scammers Are Getting Good, But Why??

There I am, in the hospital recovery room with my mom after she just had an invasive surgery on her head. She received a text: My Dad’s debit card was attempted at a $700 purchase in Florida.

Rewind for a bit of backstory. Typically, I’d erase the text. However, I had misplaced my Dad’s debit card at a McDonald’s in NYC the previous day. We were under the impression that it was far gone and needed to be canceled. That’s precisely what I did. I called the bank and issued a cancellation and a new card.

I replied to the text “Yes” frantically, which was my first mistake, indicating I was vulnerable and open to calling. My gut knew something was off when the man on the other end called and started asking questions, fortunately not anything too personal. There were so many hints on hindsight, indicating this was a scam call, saying he’d send Another new debit card, asking for verification text codes, and other shady things we are constantly warned about. However, as I was navigating through the phone call and giving this guy my life, I finally hung up after idiotically giving him the login details to my parent’s account. I immediately felt like the biggest buffoon to walk on Earth.

I, a 25-year-old Gen-Z individual who prides myself in being tech-savvy and up-to-date with trends, had just gotten bamboozled.