A software engineer from Gurgaon recently shared a humorous and insightful conversation he had with a scammer on X (formerly Twitter), bringing attention to the ongoing issue of phishing attempts.
Gaurav Sharan, a senior analyst at a leading private firm, received an SMS claiming that his HDFC account had been disabled and that he needed to update his Permanent Account Number (PAN) by clicking on a provided link. Recognizing the message as a scam, Sharan decided to engage with the fraudster.
“Okay bhaiya,” Sharan replied, playing along with the scammer.
“Just now open the link and update your pan No. (sic),” the scammer instructed.
Sharan, showcasing his expertise, responded, “Easy to find it is a scamming website. I am a software engineer, I can help you redesign the page.” He even offered his services, stating that for ₹20,000, he could “redesign [the page] exactly like the HDFC netbanking site.”
Taken aback by Sharan’s bold response, the scammer asked him to send a sample via SMS. Sharan then shared the screenshots of this exchange on X, humorously captioned, “Lesson: Never mess with a developer.”
Sharan’s witty and sharp reaction highlights the importance of staying vigilant against phishing scams and the value of technical knowledge in identifying and thwarting such fraudulent attempts.