Cyber criminals training: The Polite Reply

The Polite Reply [0:02] Narrator: A sales team. Today's target: forty thousand dirhams. The product: scams. [0:10] Layla: Sorry, wrong person. Hope you find him. [0:14] Narrator: To Layla, that was good manners. To them, it's a lead: a real person who answers. [0:22] Layla: Now they know my name... and Omar's. [0:27] Layla: Omar says it wasn't him. I answered a stranger. Reporting both. [0:34] Narrator: That email reached twenty-three colleagues. Four replied, Layla included. Each is now a lead. [0:42] Rob: Layla, I got a wrong-address email too. No link, so I told them nicely. [0:49] Narrator: Here's that first email. Nothing to click. So where's the bait? [0:57] Layla: That last question. Nothing to click, so it gets past filters more easily. Any answer proves you're real. [1:06] Rob: So being polite told them I'm real. But why us? [1:11] Layla: They didn't choose us. They bought a list of thousands of addresses. Twenty-three were ours. [1:18] Layla: Most attackers aren't spies. They want money, and they run like a sales team. [1:23] Rob: Like my team? Lists, follow-ups, commission? [1:27] Layla: Yes. A closer does the talking, for a cut of the money. [1:32] Layla: They rent lists, AI writers and closers from each other. Crime as a service: almost anyone can start. [1:40] Rob: And where does the money go? [1:43] Layla: Out through a borrowed bank account. Never let anyone move money through yours, paid or as a favour. It's a crime. [1:54] Layla: My reply gave them my name and number. AI found the rest on public profiles. Personal doesn't mean genuine. [2:03] Narrator: A stranger's email, not meant for you? Don't reply. Press the Report button. [2:09] Rob: It just came. It says 'Dear Rob'. [2:13] Layla: Don't open it, or answer them by email or phone. Report it, even if you gave nothing away. [2:23] Narrator: Nine reports later, the sender is blocked and everyone who replied is warned. The closer moves on. [2:31] Layla: One polite reply made us leads. Nine reports got that sender blocked. [2:36] Narrator: A stranger's email, not meant for you? Don't reply, not even to say "wrong person". Press Report, or contact your security team.