Inge is on holiday in India when she receives a message from someone she believes is her son.
"I broke my phone. Can you save my new number?"
The son asks how Inge is doing. He says he has had a bad start to the day. His phone is broken. The SIM card no longer works either, so he has a new one. That means he cannot receive the bank's confirmation codes, and he needs help paying a bill of 32,150 kroner.
Inge does not think anything is wrong.
Quite the opposite.
Her son was due to visit her in India a week later.
"I thought it was something he needed to sort out before he came," Inge says. "And if his phone was broken, it was important that he got it fixed. We also needed to be able to reach each other when he landed."
A message that fit perfectly
Inge had heard about digital fraud before.
But it was not something she thought about in everyday life, and she did not know anyone who had experienced it.
That made the message feel believable.
It arrived at the right time. It was about her son and spoke directly to her emotions. It fit perfectly into the situation she was already in.
"I did not suspect anything at all," she says.
When the son asks for help transferring the money, Inge wonders briefly why the amount is so large.
But because she was so far away from home, she did not simply call her son to ask what it was about.
At one point, she even suggests that the son's father back in Denmark might be able to help instead.
But the scammer has exactly the right answer ready for everything.
Shortly afterwards, Inge sends the money.
"I did not doubt it"
When Inge looks back on the experience today, she can see things she would have done differently.
But in the moment, it felt real.
"I did not doubt it in the moment," she says. "I just did not."
The next day, Inge is contacted by the bank because they suspect the transfer may be fraud.
That is when she realizes what has happened.
The shame came afterwards
Like many others who experience digital fraud, Inge felt embarrassed.
"I was completely beside myself," she says. "I felt stupid."
Even so, she needed to talk to someone about it.
She told people around her on the holiday, and fortunately they met her with understanding.
Today, she believes it is important that we talk more openly about digital fraud and show understanding for people who have experienced it.
"It is not about being stupid or naive," she says. "Scammers have simply become so clever."
Inge's advice to others
Today, Inge is more alert when she receives messages or payment requests.
And if something seems strange, she checks it more carefully before doing anything.
But her most important message may be something else:
Digital fraud is not only about technology. It is about people, trust, emotions and maybe even timing.
And that is why it can happen to anyone.
Inge was exposed to friend-in-trouble fraud.
Read more about how this type of fraud works
Inge is an alias. She has chosen to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, but the story is based on a real experience.