A Gurugram-based software engineer’s purported conversation with a cybercriminal has gone viral after he claimed to have turned the tables on the scammer by offering website development services to them. According to a report by NDTV, Gaurav Sharan, a cybersecurity analyst, offered to redesign the scammer's website for Rs 20,000, after pointing out that it was immediately recognisable as fake.
The alleged conversation started after Sharan received a message from the scammer posing as an HDFC Bank representative. The message asked him to update his PAN number on the bank site by opening a link. To this, Sharan replied, "Easy to find it is a scamming website. I am a software engineer, I can help you redesign the page. For 20K, I will help you redesign exactly like the HDFC net banking site."
This seemed to have intrigued the scammer, who responded by requesting a sample of the redesigned site via WhatsApp.
Sharan shared his experience in the form of screenshots on the social media platform X, with the caption: "Lesson: Never mess with a developer."
This is not the first such instance. According to a Hindustan Times report, Bengaluru resident Chetty Arun shared a thread in April, along with WhatsApp screenshots, to show a purported interaction he had with another scammer.
The screenshots showed the scammer opening up to Arun and talking about how he had been involved in duping people for 10 years. He also explained how APK files were used to gain control over a victim’s phone. Towards the end, the scammer wished Arun good luck.
The thread captured the attention of Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, who reposted it with the comment: “You won’t stop till you read this full thread!”