Why Your Parents Are the Easiest Target for Cybercrime

Cyber Crime : Discovering Trust Issues

Yo, what's up baddies! I'm back with another blog, this time I'm spilling the tea on how I c̶o̶m̶m̶i̶t̶e̶d̶ experienced a cyber crime — and trust me, it's wilder than you think. Let's goooo!

I remember this incident happened on Sept 24, but let me rewind a lil. I travelled back to Bangalore on the 22nd because one of my homies had his birthday on the 23rd. But hold up, it wasn't just any regular birthday bash — it was his farewell party too. The dude was leaving India for further studies, probably to escape the chaotic mess we call life here. I mean, who can blame him, right? So, we decided to throw a reunion, and let's just say it was… questionably memorable.

Let me clear this up real quick: this wasn't some wild NYC party, okay? Nah, it was a full-on sanskaari reunion — no crazy vibes, just the wholesome vibes of old friends catching up. Why? 'Cause it wasn't some corporate dinner where they foot the bill — we had to pay out of our own pockets, and trust me, no one was trying to go broke over a drink. #Priorities are set straight from day one.🥹 Plus, my boy was super careful with his cash — his student loan was tighter than everyone's jeans after a heavy biryani binge. The dude couldn't afford to get wasted — not just in life, but like literally. He was like, "Bruh, every sip of anything costs my EMI." 😂 So yeah, we wrapped up our super chill hangout in under two hours. Ain't nobody got time to waste that day.

The next day, September 24th, I was in beast mode — headphones on, laptop open, pretending to be the CEO of my life during a work meeting. Only thing is I don't get paid as much as my CEO does.

Suddenly, my phone started buzzing like it was possessed. Mom was calling me on my common number. Being the diligent employee which I am, I ignored it because I didn't want someone to question my work ethics. I mean, come on, I was in a meeting answering every question, not a big deal to ignore the call for one time. Right?

Wrong. In fraction of seconds, she called my personal number. And let me tell you, when your mom shifts to your personal number, it's K.O. Ignoring that call wasn't just risky — it was suicidal. Because if I dared to ignore her, she'd ignore me for the rest of my life. And trust me, Indian mom's silent treatment is harsher than entire HR notice period.

At that point, I realized my entire inheritance was probably on the line, so I answered. 🙄 All I could hear was my mom crying. And let me tell you, when your mom cries, your brain goes into _full panic mode because they never cry until they know your world is ending . I_s it a health emergency? Did someone die? My mind was working faster calculating possibilities than my Wi-Fi trying to catch up with my meeting.

"Where are you?" she sobbed. I was super confused, so I was like, "What happened? I'm just working in my room. Didn't even go to the office today!" "Where's your roommate?" she demanded, sounding like a detective on a case. "She went to the office!" I said, still lost in the sauce.

And then, the real kicker — "Video call me RIGHT NOW!" The tone? Straight-up threatening. Y'all, I was shook.

At this point, I was both frustrated and lowkey worried. I ditched my meeting muttering something about an "emergency" and hit that video call button. As soon as she saw my face, she took a deep breath, like she had just run a marathon, and started telling me what happened.

Apparently, some scammers called her, where an unknown police officer photo popped up, — like a Netflix preview nobody asked for. Naturally, My mom, being the sweet, trusting soul she is, thought, "Oh, it must be one of my kid's colleagues!" and boom, she picked up. And yeah, you can guess how that went. They started off strong, casually dropping my full name and phone number, which immediately sent her into panic mode. "How do they know my child?!" she freaked out, totally ignoring the fact that even the local chaiwala could probably find that info if they tried hard enough. 🤦‍♀️

And then came the Oscar-worthy twist. 😱 The scammers hit her with, "Your kid's been caught in a drugs case." Not just me — oh no, I was fictionally part of a "fantastic four," with three other imaginary girls. 🧐 To get me out of this nonexistent mess, they demanded ₹10 lakhs. Bruh, seriously? you only had one job, and you asked for 10 lakhs. Do you think I am some celebrities son?😂

And the ransom? ₹10 lakhs. YES, TEN LAKHS! To save me from this "case." I'm not sure what shocked my mom more — the fact that I was allegedly involved in a drugs scandal or the fact that they were asking for an amount she's never even seen before.

So, when my mom told me all this, I was stuck in a total dilemma: Do I laugh at how absurd this whole situation is, or do I scold her for almost falling for a scam? 🤔 But honestly, it kinda makes sense, right? I went to that reunion party the night before, and the news was throwing around stuff like the "Kolkata doctor's case" or the "Pune Porsche incident." Like, who wouldn't think their kid got caught in a drugs scandal after all that unexpected events showing up in news? 🫥

And while she was telling me all this, a thought hit me: Wait, am I not trustworthy?! Like, is my vibe at home giving "drugs" energy? 👀.

And here's where it gets even funnier. I literally warned my mom before coming to Bangalore that the same scammers had called my friend's family 😆. At least I was able to pick up my personal number and calm her down, but my poor friend's mom? She had to wait FOUR HOURS to reach him, that too via other friend. Why? 'Cause he was too busy giving a demo in a meeting room. 😂

Imagine the chaos: "Hello, is this ***'s mom? Your son's been caught in a rape case?!?" Like, what kind of scam is this?

But for him, the scammers must've been feeling generous because they only asked for ₹80,000 — and that too for a rape case. 🤔 Like, do they think a drugs case is more serious than a rape case?? 🤨 I mean, I guess it makes sense in India, where you can literally get away with anything. 🙄 Neither his mom trusted him, nor my mom trusted me. They both were out here trusting the scammers, just because a random police photo popped up? 😂

Now, think about the heart patients these scammers have been trying to scam. 😬 When this whole drama went down, I asked my mom for the scammers' number so I could report it. And what was her response? "Kaam karne gayi thi, kaam khatam karke ghar aajao!" 🤦‍♀️

Yeah, because I've been scammed a couple of times in Bangalore, and she knows exactly how messy I can get with this stuff. 😂

Moral of the story? Scammers these days are next-level creative, moms will believe anything about their kids when there's a crisis, and apparently, I'm worth a whole ₹10 lakhs (who knew, right?). 😎 Top that!

I'm writing this blog now because I've been hearing this alert whenever I call someone, and honestly, it's been going on since like, the start of January. But guess what? This whole scam thing happened to me last September, and my friend got hit by it back in July. And now, the government is just now dropping these call alerts this year.

Like, don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that they finally started this awareness program, but let's be real — scams have been happening way before last year. They should've taken action ages ago. It's like they say, "Better late than never," but let's be honest, when it comes to awareness, "delayed action is basically no action." Just like "Justice delayed is justice denied".

Alright, now onto the song suggestion part! Today, I'm gonna hit y'all with an album recommendation 'cause this one's a whole vibe. 👐 It's "****Justice" by Justin Bieber. If you haven't heard it yet, what are you even doing? Give it a listen, bruh. Trust me, it slaps! 🎧🔥

One last thing I gotta mention — my friend's been forcibly sending me videos to improve my humor, but honestly, I don't think I need it. 💅 Still, I'll take the feedback… and I promise, our relationship is not at stake. I'll take it as a constru-StFu and drop a comment down there. Please refer the below poll for options.

Thanks for sticking till the end, y'all! Signing off now at 22:19 IST, 15/01/25— catch me on the flip side. Wishing everyone a lit Pongal! 🥳✨ Stay safe from HMPV, stay savage, and keep vibing! Catch ya in the next one! ✌️ PS: DON'T DO DRUGS!!