I get 2-3 texts or whatsapp messages of this kind every week. It’s nuts.

Never respond - they go straight to trash. I don’t start comms with folks I don’t know from unsolicited texts. Period.

Far too many people fall for this, and lose everything. But many wont admit to being scammed, so they suffer in silence, which is why the toll from these scams is likely far greater than the $3 billion cited in the piece.