So I got this text message the other day:
“Happy Sunday! Hope you slept well! Sorry to bother you. I came across your number while organizing my contacts, but I can’t remember who this is.”
Seems innocent enough. I usually never respond to messages or answer calls from people I don’t know, but I was feeling curious that day, so I replied: “Sorry, you’re not in my contacts either. I hope you figure it out though.”
That was it. I was hoping that would be the end of it. But then they kept messaging me. Every attempt I made to stop the interaction, they kept pushing to find out who I was. I thought it was a confused elderly person, so I kept saying things like “again, sorry, I don’t know who this is, I can’t give you my name.” I know responding was probably a mistake, but again, I was curious. I knew if this was a scam not to give out my own information, so anything they asked, I lied about. My name, where I worked, small things about myself. I even asked personal questions to try to catch it if it was an AI, but I truly can’t tell.
Then this “maybe” person asked me to download the Telegram app so we could message. That was a red flag, but again, it had been passing all the tests I threw at it so far. She told me she was divorced, told me small things about her life and where she worked. But I know these AIs can be very smart now. I downloaded it but made sure I had two-factor verification set up and my VPN on (I don’t know if that helps or not, I’m just trying my best here).
Now, before anyone says anything, this is just me being curious and wanting to see if this truly is an AI and how sophisticated it is. And if it’s not, then this is a troubled woman who really does seem like she needs help.
Either way, I will cut all contact. I just want Reddit’s opinion on the matter. Feel free to ask questions about our interaction. I can post more messages from the chat.