A few days ago, a stranger sent me a friend request on Facebook, and soon after, our conversation started on Messenger.
At first, it seemed like a normal connection. But gradually, as the story unfolded, it became clear — this wasn't a helping hand, but a well-planned fraud.
She claimed to be an Account Auditor at Standard Chartered Bank in New York.
One of her clients was a Bangladeshi engineer named Muhammed Yusuf.
He, along with his family, died in the 2011 Haiti earthquake.
Sixty lakh dollars are stuck in the bank.
And the proposal was — to present me as the next of kin to withdraw the money, and then split it 50-50.
At first, hearing about such a huge amount of money created a slight flutter in my mind.
But my conscience awakened and I started questioning.
Why are there photos of other banks along with Standard Chartered on her profile?
How can a professional auditor carry multiple institutional identities?
I asked further — I am not any relative of the deceased person. So how is it legally possible to present myself as his 'next of kin'? Won't this create complications during the bank audit?
Finally, going deeper, I asked —
During the ISAE 3402 SOC 1 Type II audit, how is residual risk handled in the ACH transaction pipeline? What is your audit sampling methodology?
After these questions, no straightforward answers came anymore.
Just repeated urges to move to WhatsApp.
Attempts to gain trust by using religious sentiments.
“Muslim brother”, “Inshallah” — these words were used to try to touch the heart and lay a trap.
Then it became clearly understandable.
This is not any bank official.
This is a professional fraudster.
Let's look a bit deeply into why such proposals are dangerous:
First, a reputable bank never contacts unfamiliar individuals like this on Messenger. If there is a huge unclaimed fund, official notices and legal procedures are followed.
Second, the story of becoming next of kin is a familiar form of old fraud. No one can withdraw money without a genuine heir. And detailed paperwork and court approval are required to withdraw funds from an international bank.
Third, the strong insistence on moving to WhatsApp is meant to create an opportunity to erase evidence.
Fourth, the inability to answer technical questions proves that she is no auditor. A true professional would be able to speak about these matters fluently.
Those of us who spend time on Ecency or Hive, many of us like to believe in people easily. We move forward simply as good people.
But just that trust is turned into a weapon by some people to lay traps.
When greed is beautifully decorated, the conscience needs to be kept even more alert.
Stopping when doubt arises, questioning, verifying — these are the most powerful ways to protect oneself.
And the most important thing —
The password, master key, or private key of an Ecency or Hive account should never be shared with anyone.
Once these fall into someone else's hands, the control of the entire account and funds goes away.
No temptation, no urgent proposal, no “trustworthy” person — nothing is greater than these.
When an unfamiliar person brings a proposal of a huge amount of money, it is not help — it is a trap.
This trap is true intelligence to recognize and avoid.