My Scammer

How far would you go along with a scammer in the name of research? Upon receiving a recruitment text, Alexander Sammon took on a job, made a “friend,” and attempted to get paid. While it may be something you would never do, I bet you have always wondered about what would happen if you did. So let Sammon take you on this wild ride into the world of scammers . . . or is it even a scam?

One day, Cathy got banned from WhatsApp. She resurfaced under a new number, a 646 area code, New York City, and a very different-looking person in the profile picture. “I added too many students from all over the country,” she told me. “I am very sorry for this.”

This wasn’t terribly surprising. Each day the Customer Service account on WhatsApp had a different number, which meant that every day that I logged in and worked, I had to text a different number to reset my tasks.

I took many days off, but Cathy remained supportive. Every morning, she would text me: “Good morning. Wish you to have a great day.” One morning, after a weekend away, she said: “I’m worried about you.”

Despite my shoddy work ethic, and despite the fact that I’d still ponied up only $17, Cathy remained warm and supportive. “I’m your mentor and your friend,” she told me once. She was glad I’d had a festive Fourth of July.

We were also getting to know each other. She had come to the United States after a divorce. She was unable to work after things went south with her husband, she said, so she took to traveling, leaving her hometown of Enschede, in the Netherlands, which she confusingly spelled “Enskod.” (I asked a Dutch friend if anyone might use this spelling, and she said no.)