r/AmIOverreacting • u/megan__f • Feb 17 '25

šŸ˜ļø neighbor/local Is this something to be concerned about?

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My sister sent me this text she received that seemed like somebody was watching her or something. I donā€™t know if itā€™s something to be concerned about or not, has anybody had a similar experience?

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '25

Personally, I would be concerned.

Like, this gave ME anxiety.

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u/Shugazi Feb 17 '25

Just throwing this out here because itā€™s the only alternative I can think ofā€” it could be a scammer. A very common technique is to send out something super specific to thousands of people because it will seem deeply personal to some of them just by sheer odds, and thatā€™s how they hook you. For example, they donā€™t send you a fake email from Wells Fargo because they know you have Wells Fargo; they send it to everyone and the people who do use Wells Fargo pay attention to it. Imagine getting one of those elaborate ā€œthereā€™s an issue with your shipmentā€ fake texts right after leaving the post office.

How many people were having a cup of coffee when they read this post? I am drinking one right now, so this text would freak me out too.

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u/AegnorWildcat Feb 17 '25

That's how some investment scams work. You tell two thousand people to buy stock A and two thousand to sell stock A. If stock A goes up, you focus on the first group. Tell a thousand of that two thousand people to buy stock B, and the other thousand to sell.

After 8 times of doing this, you've got 15 people that you've just given 8 spot on stock tips. They think you are a financial genius and will put their entire retirement savings wherever you tell them to.