When emotions get the best of you, it’s easy to miss some signs
I was impacted by a scam phone call this week that didn’t cost me money or expose my data, but took an enormous emotional toll, including 20 minutes of terror.
At 12:37 p.m., my cell phone rang with a caller ID that, at first glance, looked like it was my wife. I now know it wasn’t exactly her number, but it was the same area code and prefix and the same last number. But at the time I thought it was her number. A security expert I spoke with later explained his technique. Start with fear, follow with an authority figure to gain my trust and then pivot to the threat. As much as I pride myself on critical thinking skills, it worked with me.
He told me not to contact anyone and asked me if I was alone. I said I was. At one point, the 911 operator asked me for my wife’s phone number, which I whispered into the desk phone. The scammer heard me and asked who I was talking to. I denied I was speaking to anyone and just said I was talking to myself because I was nervous.
After he hung up, I turned my attention to the 911 operator on the other phone. My wife and I are both able to use Google Maps to track each other, so I told the operator my wife was at the Embarcadero 4 complex in San Francisco and verified her phone number. The operator told me that a police car was pulling up in front of my house and that I should go speak with him.
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