A majority of internet scammers target older people due to the fact they're more likely to live on their own and they might not be as tech savvy.
However, an OAP over in North Yorkshire proved this theory wrong by outsmarting a hacker after they targeted him on social media.
Not only did John Richards manage to turn the table on the PayPal fraudster, but he's also £1,380 better off.
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It all started when the 73-year-old technician received a Facebook message on August 3 from someone posing as his friend.
The message read: "Can you help me receive a payment for my camera if you know how to?"
Speaking to Mirror Money, Richard said: "He asked if he could use my PayPal account to collect the money from the buyer, so I sent over my details and agreed to help him."
However, he grew suspicious when five payments of £690 each were made to his account. Although two of these were blocked by PayPal, the remaining three - totalling £2,070 - made it through.
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When Richard attempted to transfer the money to his bank account to send to the "friend", the transaction was blocked by Metro Bank.
He commented: "My bank spotted the fraud and blocked the transfers I set up, returning £2,070 to my current account on Monday morning."
The scammer then tried to get Richard to call the bank, promising a £50 fee for his troubles, and when he said he was unable to do so, they replied: "Could you loan me £1,000 and in two hours I'll sort it back with £200 on top for all your help?"
At this point, the technician realised something was up and so asked his pal to call him and verify their identity.
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Unsurprisingly, the fraudster refused, writing: "I want to call you but got managers overlooking me."
They have since reversed two of the £690 payments, although Richard's still got a cool £1,380 in his account - and he's not willing to pay it back, claiming that PayPal allowed him to become a scam target.
A PayPal spokesman told Mirror Money: "We always recommend that people should never accept or move money on behalf of someone else. If you get such a request, just say no.
"We never lose sight of the fact that we are entrusted to look after people's money. We take this responsibility very seriously and use advanced fraud and risk management tools to keep our customers and their payments safe."
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Social Media, Pensioner, Facebook, Scam