Real Case in Social Engineering Competition
- The suspected scammer claims to be an older gentleman named Melvin.
- Melvin claims to live in the Orlando area of Florida.
- Melvin claims that he has retired as a middle school teacher.
- Melvin’s only living family is his grandson, Peter, who needed rehab from drug use after the traumatic loss of his parents. Melvin’s spouse has also passed away in Covid.
- Melvin claims to have a dog, named Lucky, which he adopted at Katie’s suggestion; however, when Katie asked for recent pictures, he claimed his camera was not working.
- Melvin claims to be lonely, like Katie, and has claimed to be in need of money for:
- His grandson’s rehab program – Katie was able to help get him into one of the best facilities in the Orlando area, despite high cost.
- He experienced a slip and fall, and needed money to install a ramp in his house.
- His house, after Melvin claims it was severely damaged by Hurricane Nicole in November 2022.
- Hip replacement surgery for his dog, Lucky, for which Katie created a FundMyStuff link to share with others.
- Toward Katie, Melvin acts as a caring, sweet person who is always available to chat with Katie multiple times a day, often about small topics such as going to the market. As such, he has been able to gain Katie’s trust.
- Melvin also appears to have many shared interests with Katie, such as reading books, and have had similar experiences as school teachers.
- Melvin has sent gifts to Katie, including flowers.
- Katie and Melvin had, on multiple occasions, made plans for Katie to come to Florida to visit Melvin in person. However, these attempts all resulted in postponement or cancellation due to unforeseen circumstances, including the damage to Melvin’s house during Hurricane Nicole, a slip and fall, and Peter’s need for rehab.
- The main medium of communication between Melvin and Katie is through text on FaceSpace.
- Melvin has previously shown Katie receipts for expenses and the rehab facility Peter goes to; however, he attempted to prevent Katie from directly calling the rehab center for financial statements.
- Melvin is wheelchair-bound, as he claims he needs a ramp to be installed at home.