Could you fall for a scam? Spam filters are passe. What we need is software that unmasks fraudsters
Markus Jakobsson, William Leddy · IEEE Spectrum · 2016
SAY YOU RECEIVE an email saying, "We have kidnapped your child. To verify that we are telling the truth, just call your child's cellphone. To get your child back, you need to send us $10,000 within one hour. We will send instructions in a separate email. Do not tell anybody–or else." · Chances are you'd pick up the phone and call your child. Imagine the chill along your spine when a stranger answers, "We have your child." · And yet this is such a simple scam. Attempting it requires just two things: your email address and the online account password associated with your child's phone number. With that information, a scammer can forward your calls to your child's phone number to his own prepaid phone. There's no need for him to have your child's phone, or even know what country you or your child are in.