The Anti-Scam Squad: Protecting the Innocent from Online Crime (Part 5)
Country, character, and time zone are all fictional. This is an imaginary story that I came up with, and I do not intend to offend anyone or any country. If there are any similar stories, it is just coincidence. As a fan of Hong Kong action movies, I hope you enjoy this story and arm yourself against online scams.
Part 5: James and Mary
Mary’s first mission is to convince Sarah that David is a scammer. So, Emily begged her sister, Sarah, to listen to The Anti Scam Squad just once.
With Emily’s help, Leo manages to arrange a private meeting between Mary and Sarah.
Mary says, “Look at this, David. He is using different names online to scam various victims. He has managed to scam the amount of $1m from innocent people.”
Sarah, crying, replies, “But he showered me with love. Every day and night, he would text me to check on me. You mean all this is fake?! I am just about to transfer him one more time from my balance savings of $30k. He promised to return me with profit. I already transferred a total of $120k previously.”
Mary suggests, “Ok! Tell him you will pass it to him in cash! You wanted to meet him badly.” Sarah agrees.
Who are James and Mary?
James is an expert in online CCTV surveillance. His skill set includes tapping into the CCTV systems of scammers’ offices and monitoring their activities. Prior to this, he worked as a private investigator specializing in marital affairs.
Mary, on the other hand, is a scam baiter who pretends to be a victim. She counters scams by anonymously tipping off law enforcement about the scammers’ accounts. Despite her petite appearance, she is a Taekwondo black belt and is not someone to be trifled with.
They met two years ago in Chicago. James was investigating a wealthy man suspected of having an affair. While tailing the man, James was spotted and subsequently beaten up by the man’s bodyguard. Mary, who happened to be nearby, stepped in to help. Using her Taekwondo skills, she easily overpowered the bodyguard, who turned out to be a bodybuilder with no actual fighting experience.
Following this encounter, they began to see more of each other and eventually grew closer. Once Mary learned about James’s expertise, they embarked on their own journey as scam baiters.
Back to Sarah
David agreed to meet in person, but he sent his rookie to meet with Sarah instead. His plan was to have the rookie snatch the money from Sarah.
James had placed a necklace with a video camera on Sarah and set up an earpiece for communication. They arranged to meet at a coffee shop where there wouldn’t be much of a crowd.
Leo and Mary were nearby, ready to intervene in case anything unforeseen happened to Sarah. Eun was on the backend, continuously scanning David’s account, which was still active due to the numerous transactions with different accounts.
The rookie met up with Sarah and asked, “Are you Sarah? David asked me to meet you to collect the money.” Sarah replied, “No, I want to see David.” The rookie snatched the bag and ran. The bag had a navigator placed in it.
Leo and Mary gave chase and found the rookie hiding in a dead-end corner. They asked him, “Where is your boss?” The rookie replied, “I don’t know him. I’m just a runner who owes a lot of money to a loan shark. I didn’t have a choice.” They told him to call his boss and tell him that he got the money.
Will Anti-Scam Squad be able to trace David’s real location?
To be continued…
©John Ang. All rights reserved
The Anti-Scam Squad Series will be posted every Tuesday and Thursday.
You can read the entire series here.