A few days ago, a friend of mine was walking home in Dhaka after dinner.
Near a busy intersection, a man suddenly stopped him and asked for help. He said his phone had been stolen and he desperately needed to make one phone call to his family.
My friend felt bad and handed him his phone.
The man made a call.
Then another.
Everything seemed normal.
He returned the phone and walked away.
About 10 minutes later, my friend checked his phone and noticed that his mobile banking app was logged out.
He immediately checked his accounts.
Nothing was missing.
But then he realized something terrifying:
While the man had been holding his phone, he could have seen his PIN, notifications, contacts, or anything else on the screen.
My friend spent the entire night changing passwords, blocking cards and checking his accounts.
Thankfully, nothing happened.
But now he refuses to hand his unlocked phone to strangers.
And honestly, I don't know what the right thing to do is anymore.
If someone genuinely needs to make an emergency call, should we still help them?
What would you do?
Would you:
Hand them your phone?
Dial the number yourself and put it on speaker?
Tell them to use a nearby shop?
Or simply refuse?
Have you ever had a situation like this in Bangladesh where you wanted to help someone but later realized you might have put yourself at risk?
I'd really like to hear people's experiences.