Sarah's fingers hovered over the keyboard, her eyes fixed on the glowing screen. The clock ticked past midnight, but sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. The email that had appeared in her inbox moments ago demanded her attention:
Dearest Sarah,
I hope this message finds you well. I kindly request your immediate assistance in a matter of great urgency. Your dear grandmother's estate has been held in limbo, and we need but one small piece of information to release her vast fortune to you.
Kindly respond with your social security number and bank account details. Time is of the essence.
Yours truly, Mr. S. Cammer
Sarah's heart raced. Her grandmother had passed away just last week, and the wounds were still fresh. But something felt... off. The formal language, the urgency, the request for personal information – all red flags she'd been warned about.
Yet, as her cursor hovered over the delete button, a chill ran down her spine. From the corners of her dark room, she heard a whisper, "Kindly reply, dearest..."
Sarah whirled around, but she was alone. When she turned back to the screen, her blood ran cold. The email was gone, replaced by a single line of text:
"Too late, my dear. You should have replied kindly."
The screen went black. In its reflection, Sarah saw a figure standing behind her, grinning. As she opened her mouth to scream, her computer sparked to life, bathing the room in an eerie glow. The last thing Sarah saw was a new email notification:
"Dearest victim, kindly prepare for eternity..."
The correlation between the words "kindly" and "dearest" and their potential association with scam attempts is clear. This is an interesting language pattern that has been seen in many online scams and fraudulent communications.
Some examples of how these words might appear in scam messages:
"Kindly provide your bank details for verification."
"Dearest beneficiary, we are pleased to inform you of your inheritance."
"Kindly respond urgently to claim your prize."
"My dearest, I am in urgent need of your assistance..."
"Kindly respond to this invitation for an interview."
While the presence of these words doesn't always indicate a scam, their frequent use, especially in combination with other red flags (urgent requests, unsolicited contact, requests for personal information), can be a useful indicator of potential scam attempts.
Watch the language used in emails and text messages. It may save you money and aggravation.
