I got a strange text last week.

The person knew my first name. They also knew I used to live in Arizona — more than 30 years ago.

They said their name was Tina, that they'd found my number on an old phone and just had to reach out to see if I remembered them.

At first, it sounded just plausible enough.

But there was one problem.

I didn't have this phone number when I lived in Arizona.

Then "Tina" offered to send me a photo.

That was enough for me. I wasn't interested in finding out where this conversation was going.

But it left me wondering:

How did a complete stranger know something about my life from more than three decades ago?

And more importantly, how many people would have continued that conversation?

A scam message doesn’t always start with:

Some scammers know your name, where you've lived, where you've worked or other little details about your past.

That information may have come from social media, old online records, data breaches or websites that collect and sell personal information.

And that's what makes these messages convincing.

Just because someone knows something about you doesn't mean they actually know you.

This is similar to what's known as a wrong-number or long-lost-friend scam.

It starts with an innocent-looking message from someone pretending to know you.

The first goal isn't necessarily to steal your money.

It's to get you talking.

Once you respond, the scammer may try to build trust. The conversation might continue for days or weeks before they introduce an investment opportunity, ask for money or try to obtain personal information.

Sometimes these schemes develop into romance or cryptocurrency investment scams.

In my case, "Tina" wanted to send me a photo. That might have been an attempt to keep the conversation going. There's no way to know what the next step would have been.

What's interesting is that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has warned about almost exactly this type of approach.

Want to learn more?

Here's something you might not have considered.

Instead of trying to figure out whether a suspicious message is legitimate, you can ask AI to examine it.

Think of AI as a second set of eyes.

It can look for inconsistencies, unusual requests, emotional manipulation and common scam tactics.

In my situation, the biggest clue was the phone number.

The story didn't fit the timeline.

AI can help you notice these details, especially when a message initially sounds convincing.

It won't always get the answer right, but it can give you a reason to stop and think before responding.

The next time you receive a questionable text, email or Facebook message, don't respond immediately.

Instead, try this simple exercise using ChatGPT.

Step 1 — Open ChatGPT

On your computer or phone, open ChatGPT.

Step 2 — Copy the suspicious message

Copy the text from the message and paste it into ChatGPT.

You can also upload a screenshot using the + button beside the message box.

Remove or cover any unnecessary personal information first.

Step 3 — Copy This Prompt

Step 4 — Read the Explanation

Pay particular attention to the reasons AI gives you.

Does the sender seem to know you without providing any real details about your relationship?

Are they asking you to click something, open a photo or move the conversation to another app?

Does their story make sense?

You can even ask ChatGPT:

Sometimes that one question can make a big difference.

AI cannot guarantee that a message is legitimate or fraudulent.

It can miss warning signs, and it can sometimes identify innocent messages as suspicious.

Don't upload passwords, verification codes, financial information or other sensitive details.

And never open a suspicious attachment or click a questionable link just to investigate it.

If someone claims to represent your bank, a government agency or even a family member, contact them through a phone number or website you already trust.

Here's a particularly useful feature for anyone who doesn't enjoy copying and pasting text.

ChatGPT can examine screenshots.

For example, suppose you receive a suspicious email that looks like it's from your bank.

Rather than typing the whole thing out:

You can use this with suspicious text messages, emails, social-media messages and even strange warnings that suddenly appear on your computer screen.

The interesting part isn't just that AI can read the screenshot. It's that it can help explain what you should be looking for.

And that's something you can use again and again.

What bothered me most about that text wasn't that someone was trying to scam me.

It was how much they already seemed to know.

My name. Arizona. Something from more than 30 years ago.

It was just enough information to make their story sound believable.

Fortunately, there was one detail that gave it away.

The next time you get a message that doesn't feel quite right, don't rush to respond.

Give AI a chance to help you examine it.

You might be surprised by what it notices.

12 Text Scams you need to know about.

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