Texting Scam Offers Free Booze, Catches 90% Of Student Population

Texting Scam Offers Free Booze, Catches 90% Of Student Population

Students across Dunedin were caught up in a sophisticated scam over the past week which exploited their core weakness: the ingrained need to get on the piss.

The scam involved a text being sent to students prompting them to open a suspicious link. It promised a free box of booze if they download an app. The scam spread like wildfire across Studentville as each app download ripped the contacts list off a victim and quickly sent more texts to more unsuspecting students. 

It may have worked, too, if the scammers hadn’t sent the text out on a Tuesday, right before students receive their Studylink payments and have zero dollars in the bank. At the time of writing, the scam has captured bank details of approximately eighteen thousand students, but it has only raised a collective $114.32.

“Yeah bro I wanted the free box,” said one naïve breather. “Couldn’t believe it, at least I’d spent my living costs before then though. Nothing to steal from me bro.” He then backed away slowly, turning his pockets out.

The Government recommended factory resetting your device to remove the malware from the scam. Many students are reluctant to do so considering they forgot all of their social media passwords years ago.  

This article first appeared in Issue 25, 2021.
Posted 12:33am Saturday 2nd October 2021 by The Critical Tribune.