Description

I received an unsolicited text message from the number (408) 763-5427 on October 21. The message said, “Hello Erick! How are you doing today?” and included a photo of a young woman. I do not know anyone named Erick. This matches the well-known “wrong number + photo” initiation pattern used in pig-butchering style romance/investment scams. These messages are used to verify that a number is active before scammers attempt to move victims to WhatsApp or Telegram. I replied only “Wrong number,” and blocked the number. A carrier lookup shows the number is assigned to SINCH (Inteliquent/Neutral Tandem), a VoIP provider frequently used for scam traffic. Because the number uses a California area code, it has also been reported to the California Attorney General, in addition to the FTC. Posting this for public awareness. If you ever receive a text message that starts this way: • Block the number immediately • Report the number to your phone carrier and the FTC • If the scammer already moved you to another platform (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.), report the account inside that platform • Forward any malicious messages to a scam/spam reporting bot if available Early reporting helps prevent these scams from targeting others.