UNILADOut of everyone to have received a text from a wrong number, I would confidently guess the majority of us simply ignore them.
If you are polite enough and have the time to do so, you may text back, apologising, along the lines of ‘sorry, I think you have the wrong number’.
However, when 31-year-old Alex Hall from Nebraska noticed he had a strange text from an unknown number, he saw an opportunity to have some fun, because why not.
UNILADReceiving the random text earlier this month, Alex just couldn’t help himself and so began a prank that would continue for weeks.
The message read:
Hey, how’s everything going?! I know you had mentioned it a while ago but I didn’t know if the offer still stood for possibly doing some baking for my wedding?
While he didn’t know whether the original ‘offer still stood’, Alex decided although he may not have baked before, now was a good time to start by helping out the stranger on the other end of the phone.
First he had to find out more details of course about budget, what type of cake the couple wanted and whether they had ‘an egg guy’, throwing the first spanner into the works.
Somehow the stranger barely even flinched at this question. Maybe ‘egg guys’ are a thing then?!?
UNILAD
UNILADAlthough Alex felt he had given enough hints he knew nothing about baking, he then made things pretty clear by asking ‘is it a problem I’ve never baked anything before besides Pillsbury cookies?’
But yet again this didn’t faze the stranger who commented ‘I’ve always thought you were a great cook/baker’ adding they had ‘faith’.
Speaking exclusively to UNILAD, Alex said he was stunned the person even ignored this:
When I saw the text I figured I’d have some fun with it. I didn’t want to be mean about it and I figured it would give the person on the other end a good laugh once she figured out she had the wrong number.
When I found out this wasn’t one of those $100,000 budget type of weddings, I figured I should start making it a little more obvious that I was not the person she was actually trying to get a hold of.
But I honestly have no clue why they ignored the fact I mentioned I had never baked before. I think they were convinced I was the person they were trying to contact, so they just assumed I was being modest or really just joking around.
Starting to feel ‘invincible’ and now wanting to really ‘test the limits’, Alex brought in the fictional character of ‘Aunt Girdie’ which was a brilliant move.
Again, for some reason, the texter went along with it:
UNILADShocked the stranger still hadn’t questioned him, Alex took on a new strategy and attempted to find out where they had got his number from.
After the person told him it was from a woman named ‘Amanda’ who they ‘couldn’t get a hold of on Facebook’, he returned to seeing how far the prank could go.
He hilariously messaged back:
O yea, I went off the grid. I kept having a black sedan parked outside my home. I think the government has been monitoring me and my online activity.
I’m just living out of my car for a while until I feel it’s safe. Which reminds me, do you have an oven I can use?
I don’t know if I will be in a new place by October.
UNILADEagerly awaiting a reply, Alex saw his sister Amanda had sent a screenshot to their family’s group chat of a conversation she had been having with one of their cousins.
Amanda… now that is familiar.
It turned out Alex’s sister was rather confused by the strange message she had received from their cousin asking whether everything was okay with their mum as ‘she just doesn’t seem like herself’.
Hmmm, I wonder why?!?
UNILADWanting to triple check this cousin was the person Alex had been pranking, he sent one more text saying ‘btw if you get a text from another number, it’s probably just my burner’.
Sure enough, Amanda got a message from the girl which read ‘now she’s talking about a burner phone’.
Oh Alex…
UNILADAlex couldn’t believe his sister had given out his number instead of their mum’s but was secretly glad she did.
He explained why to UNILAD:
My cousin was pretty sold on the fact that she had the right number and convinced that she was talking to my mum this entire time (who by the way is a phenomenal baker).
So I lost it when I found out and couldn’t stop laughing.
I had been sharing these updates with my friend Nick the entire time. When I sent him that he told me I had to keep it going and keep sending updates because he was telling his entire staff that works for him and they were dying laughing.
I love making people laugh, although I also wonder how crazy my cousin thinks my mum is to have trusting everything that had been said up to that point in the conversation had actually been her!
To be honest, I would also wonder the same thing.
It is no surprise then Alex’s mum tried to shut the whole thing down in the family group chat:
UNILADInstead of shutting it down though, Alex decided to show off his work on Twitter sharing screenshots of the messages.
He tweeted:
Yesterday I got a text from an unknown number. Instead of looking at it as a mistake, I’ve decided to view it as an opportunity, I’ve never baked before but I think I can pull this off.
Naturally the thread went viral receiving over 12,700 likes and 3,500 rewteets at time of writing (August 30).
UNILADEncouraged by the reception his prank received on Twitter, Alex continued the joke realising that although the girl had now realised she had texted the wrong number, she still hadn’t figured out who exactly she was texting.
The cousin then decided to have some fun of her own, playing along, throwing some curveballs including referring to Amanda as a him and saying she wanted ranch flavoured cupcakes for the wedding.
Eventually Alex gave in and confessed, although he still didn’t reveal his true identity.
UNILAD
UNILADInstead Alex had to have the final punchline and pretended to be a psychic, revealing he knew Elisabeth’s name through use of his magic powers.
He wrote:
You have to hear me out, it’s going to sound crazy, no one ever believes me when I tell them.
One of the things that’s easiest to travel over long distances are names. That’s how I was able to pick gup on your name.
One name that I keep picking up on from you is Jeff. I get the sense he has an important presence in your life, I sense parental?
Unfortunately Alex though was outsmarted by Elisabeth who googled his number, discovered his identity and then pretended she also had the ‘same gift’ predicting his name is Alex.
To be honest Alex and Elisabeth do have the same gift, the gift of the gab that is!
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UNILADAnd so Alex’s joke came to an end as he wished Elisabeth all the best with her wedding and even offered to help his mum bake some cupcakes for it.
He will probably be lucky to get an invitation though!
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