Read the news about get rich fast scheme. Why do people keep falling for that? You read newspaper everyday, know all the consequences yet you fall through the trap. Nobody get rich by sitting on their ass doing nothing. Need to multiply you wealth, well how about trying to sell 'goreng pisang' instead of giving it to a 'good-for-nothing' person or company. Want to invest, find those legitimate banks and invest.
Guilty or Gullible? Falling for an Internet Scam
My morning's email was filled with the usual quota of scams.
"Dear Friend," one message began, "As you read this, I don't want you to feel sorry for me, because, I believe everyone will die someday. My name is Shadak Shari, a merchant in Dubai, in the U.A.E. I have been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. It has defied all forms of medical treatment, and right now I have only about a few months to live, according to medical experts."
You know the rest of the story. The guy claims to have found you because you seem trustworthy. It's a matter of great urgency. He has oodles of money and needs you to help him get it out of the country. If you consent to help, you get 10% of some multimillion-dollar bonanza.
This particular type of scam has a name, a 419 scam, named after the Nigerian penal code which relates to fraud. But, as my letter attests, it's not limited to Nigeria. As soon as you say yes to helping them move money, things start falling apart. You'll get asked to front money to bribe officials, pay fees, help relatives travel out of the country, have papers forged. You may even receive an installment on your big win—a check to deposit, though it's often forged.
I thought the scam was thing of the past, an inside joke, an urban legend—until I read this week's New Yorker. Author Mitchell Zuckoff tells the story of John Worley, a Massachusetts psychotherapist, who fell for the scam hook, line, and sinker as they say. The scary twist is that rather than treating him as a victim of fraud he was treated to a trial in the U.S. District Circuit Court in Boston for bank fraud, money laundering, and possession of counterfeit checks. Found guilty on all counts, he's now serving his sentence. It's a fascinating story of a guy who sinks deeper and deeper into the mess.
Believe me, there are plenty of less overt scams that I can see falling for, but this one is like falling for a knock-knock joke. Most amazing is the fact the Nigerian plea in all of its variations is still alive and kicking after years of being discussed.
Some say scams like the 419 take advantage of our better nature; they prey on our need to be good Samaritans and help others. Others say they simply play on American greed, the dream of getting rich overnight.
Are people who fall for scams like this gullible or guilty? What do you think?
To see some other examples of 419 email scams in their entirety click here. And be careful, these scam-busting sites could be scams of their own!
I had been gullible, naive, soft, pliable. That's why I got taken advantage of. To survive, you have to have a tough skin.- Tia Carrere
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