Guy takes scammer on an epic adventure that involved a priest, exorcism and a gift card
That will probably be the scammers last scam for a while.

Guy makes up elaborate story when scammer messages him
Scammers are going to scam. This seems to be something that has rung true since the dawn of time and they just get more sophisticated with technology. If you're on social media platforms like Facebook, then you've inevitably seen friend's and loved ones lose their accounts to hackers or witnessed a scammer try to pretend to be them.
Usually people just alert others and move on from the experience but wouldn't it be fun to give them a run for their money while they try to take yours? Jeremy Roberts decided to do just that when his mom, Tami's Facebook profile was recently cloned by scammers. He took the potential scammer on a adventure with more twists and turns than a mystery novel.
The exchange started off innocent enough with the scammer writing, "Hello How are you doing," in messenger, not realizing that the message was being sent to Tami's son.
Roberts immediately engages pretending that he has no idea that he's not talking to the real Tami. By the next question, the scammer was asking for a favor from Roberts but before "Tami" can ask, Roberts asserts that he's busy with his brother Doug who thinks he's possessed b a demon. The brothers are supposedly on their way to meet with a priest to check out Doug's demon possession.
Jeremy Roberts|Facebook
You'd think hearing of a demon possession would make "Tami" pause. Instead the scammer posing as Tami continued right into their spiel about a "program" called Community Trust Foundation, but Roberts doesn't bite, he sticks to his bit about his brother being possessed. "Tami" sees an opening after Roberts says the priest sent him to the store for a crucifix and Pepto, though priest generally come equipped with their own crucifix.
Instead of being concerned about the potentially possessed brother or why a priest preparing to do an exorcism didn't have his own crucifix, "Tami" asked Roberts to buy Apple gift cards to upgrade their phone camera since he was in the store anyway. The scammer is persistent if nothing else. Of course Roberts agrees but continues to string the scammer along with the urgency of getting back to his possessed brother.
Jeremy Roberts|Facebook
After so much back and forth, the scammer got comfortable enough to start answering Roberts' random questions about the best type of medicine for an upset stomach. Eventually Roberts informed "Tami" that a demon was confirmed by the priest and he needed to get back to Doug. The entire time the persistent scammer kept asking about a $200 gift card while simultaneously answering questions about Doug's presumed possession. Shortly after Roberts posted the interaction, it quickly went viral and commenters can't get over the elaborate story and the scammer's persistence.
"That is the best exchange ever. That smoooooth transition for the gift card request," someone writes.
"Scamming someone and trying to cast out demons. Nope, Satan can't cast out Satan," another says.
"My 14 year old and I were screaming laughing “a picture of the demon?” Snort.," one woman laughs.
The entire exchange is so comical that you'd have to read the entire thing to get the full effect and the ending was definitely a jump scare, not to the reader but probably for the scammer.
- Heads up! That call from a panicky relative may be a scammer voice clone. ›
- Man investigating suspicious scammer emails leads to him changing the lives of two people ›
- Clever grandma lured a scammer to her house and got him arrested ›
- Gift card scams to be aware of this Christmas - Upworthy ›
- Brilliant new AI tool that sounds like elderly grandmother turns the table on scammers - Upworthy ›
- 25 truly satisfying things you can say to phone scammers instead of just hanging up - Upworthy ›
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.