The scariest part about getting scammed was not realising it was happening in the first place.

Perhaps naively, I never thought I would be the victim of a cyber scam. I’m reasonably digitally literate and have had it drilled into me to be wary of phishing emails and strange text messages. I’ve even received training at my workplace on how to safeguard yourself against hacking.

It may have been this assumption, that cybercrimes target the elderly and vulnerable rather than a tech-savvy zillennial who grew up with mobile phones and the internet, that loosened my guard.

I had been on a summer vacation, rarely checking my phone, when the text message arrived. It purported to be from my bank and said my “awards points” were going to expire the following day.

“We’re reminding you that 12,805 awards points … are set to expire on 31 December 2025,” the message read. “Don’t miss out – redeem your points today.”

This........

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