A few years ago, even when we didn’t spend as much time in front of our computers, scams were already part of our lives. Back then, people still tried to steal our data, forge our IDs, and take our money or valuables.

But doing so required much more courage, knowledge, and determination—because you couldn’t just sit in the comfort of your home, at your desk or tucked in bed, hidden behind a screen. Back then, you had to do it face-to-face. In the real world. Looking into someone’s eyes, showing your real face, speaking with your real voice.

There was no way to hide your nerves. No “backspace” if you didn’t like what you said—because communication happened verbally, not in writing. Once something was said, there was no undoing it—only excuses. Sure, a real pro could talk themselves out of any situation, but those types didn’t usually go after everyday people. They were hunting bigger game—those worth a much greater financial reward.

Then, as the internet and the digital world evolved, “cybercrime” entered our lives.
Cybercrime is any kind of crime committed not face-to-face, but through electronic channels. This can be over the phone, via email, a website, a chatroom, a dating app, even through SMS. Any platform where you don’t physically face the perpetrator. They could be sitting in the office next door—or thousands of kilometers away on the other side of the world.

Some types of scams still involved real-world observation.
Watching where we live, where we work, where we shop, who our friends are, what our habits and hobbies include—and using that intel against us.

But these required a lot of time, effort, and often significant financial investment from the perpetrator, so they were only used in high-stakes situations with the promise of a big payoff.

And even then, a shared language was still crucial. Back then, it wasn’t common to strike up conversations with someone on the other side of the world speaking a different language. And if it did happen, trust was minimal. A foreigner, speaking broken Hungarian? Not very convincing.

That’s why, in those early days, it was easier to spot a scam.
The contact usually started in English—and more often than not, poor English. Or it was a jumbled mess from a translation tool, full of spelling mistakes, odd grammar, and phrases that made no sense in Hungarian.

In that era, our language was actually our greatest shield.
Hungarian is complex and spoken by very few. It simply wasn’t worth the time or energy for scammers to master it. It made more sense to focus on bigger, more profitable targets than us Hungarians.

So yes—our difficult language, our modest financial standing, and our small population meant we weren’t prime targets in the first wave of cybercrime.
Ironically, the very things we often felt held us back, helped protect us. 😊

Of course, there were scams within Hungary—mostly amateur-level ones that were fairly easy to detect.

At one point, a surprisingly popular method emerged:
Women (or people pretending to be women) chatted online and tried to manipulate others into sending them mobile top-up codes.

They’d start chatting, build a friendly bond—or something more flirtatious—and over time gain the victim’s trust. They’d talk for hours, days, even months.
They’d like the same music, food, sports, hobbies—whatever it took to get closer.

Sometimes it took weeks.
Sometimes just a few hours from “hello” to “can you send me a phone card code?”

With men, the bait was often the promise of sex—or at least the illusion of it.
But the ask was always the same in the end:
“Could you send me a top-up code so we can talk about meeting? I have no credit.”

Obvious? Yes.
Too obvious? Still, yes.
Did people fall for it? A lot of them.

Why?
Because the scam was crafted with such smart psychology, such perfect emotional manipulation, that victims didn’t even suspect they were being tricked. It never crossed their minds. This was a new thing, after all. The long, intimate conversations built so much trust that fear and doubt were pushed aside.

So why didn’t people talk about it?
Why didn’t they go to the police?
Why did most cases remain secret?

The reason is painfully human: shame.
Even back then, people found it incredibly hard to admit they’d been scammed—sometimes even to themselves. Let alone to someone else.

Some didn’t just send one code—but two, three, four… more.
Until they finally realized:
There is no meeting. It was all fake.

What ended this particular scam trend?
Public awareness? No.
Police intervention? Definitely not.
(In fact, I’m not aware of a single arrest.)

The real reason?
The era of top-up phones ended.
People moved to monthly plans.
Prepaid models faded from everyday use.

Yes, prepaid phones still exist—but in such small numbers that they’re not worth scamming anymore.

So no, the scammers weren’t caught.
They just… moved on.
To much more profitable methods.

With the rise of technology and AI, everything changed.
Almost overnight, we all found ourselves right in the middle of the cybercriminals’ target zone.

How and why?
That’s what the next part of this series will reveal.

Zoltán