Bot or Not

Late night rant about scams, fake identities, and wishing I had something like /bot-or-not IRL.

A friend and their siblings received a horrifying spoof call from their mom’s number tonight telling them their mom was going to be killed if they didn’t send money to a specified address.

Confirmed by other means that their mom was ok. But hearing someone say your mom is in danger coming from her number still shakes you up.

Fuck you to the people who prey on others like this. And fuck, this is only going to get worse as spoofing gets easier and better.

Also how in god’s name do we not have an easier way to verify phone numbers in 2024?!

Creator of /bot-or-not @harmonybot @yoinker. Contributing to /blitkin & /orange-dao IRL: Building spatial computing for construction @ Resolve YC W15

Holy heck and what the f*ck. This sucks so bad. Send my well wishes to your friend and their family. How terrible. 
There is no excuse for such behaviour, but what you said in a comment is also very true: desparation and wealth disparity are contributing factors to this. We can all do better. But still, no excuse for this horrible behaviour.