Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ah yes the old west. A time of peace and low crime.
You mean like today?
When’s the last time your horse got rustled?
Ask HN: My mother was scammed out of all her savings. What should I do?
61–70 of 79 posts
Re: Ask HN: My mother was scammed out of all her savings. What should I do?
#62It's a growing threat everywhere. Here in Russia it's nearly always in the news. They can even trick a person into selling expensive property (real estate) and then steal the money. One thing is the government must act. These calls are mostly done from abroad. Phone companies can implement some protective measures. Banks too need to watch for common patterns (doesn't always help because scammers talk the victim aroun…
Then the singer went on to use her influence and celebrity lawyers to keep the apartment and not return the buyer's money, screwing the buyer in the process. Literally her defenses were "the buyer should've known this deal was suspect due to below the market price" and that the buyer should have asked for a health report from a psychiatrist (wtf). Not a nice old lady after all. I haven't been following the case close…
That "use of influence" is pure imagination. But you are right, there is another even darker half of the story: not only she has lost a large sum of money, she is now hated and bullied by a raging mob of "honest buyers".
(Most such sales happen at a large discount; half price is not uncommon. In many cases the buyer can clearly see something is off. Yet the price is so sweet the buyer cannot resist and risks getting sued afterwards. Of course, maybe this particular case is an exception.)
Re: Ask HN: My mother was scammed out of all her savings. What should I do?
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
Then the singer went on to use her influence and celebrity lawyers to keep the apartment and not return the buyer's money, screwing the buyer in the process. Literally her defenses were "the buyer should've known this deal was suspect due to below the market price" and that the buyer should have asked for a health report from a psychiatrist (wtf). Not a nice old lady after all. I haven't been following the case close…
That "use of influence" is pure imagination. But you are right, there is another even darker half of the story: not only she has lost a large sum of money, she is now hated and bullied by a raging mob of "honest buyers". (Most such sales happen at a large discount; half price is not uncommon. In many cases the buyer can clearly see something is off. Yet the price is so sweet the buyer cannot resist and risks getting…
I must have imagined that she was represented by Mikhail Barshchevsky, one of the highest-ranked government lawyers. Just to be clear, your stance is that the buyer should be the bagholder when the seller gets swindled?
Re: Ask HN: My mother was scammed out of all her savings. What should I do?
#64Cyber attacks have gotten pretty sophisticated. Lately supply chain attacks are all over HN, I got hacked through a Web3 interview. I managed to get the site down after complaining to their hosting provider.
November 1st I received an email that I had been hacked and all private data including a video of me was owned. I got really emotional but then after reading it, I saw it was a generic threat and nothing could be done.
You are asking, what can be done? Start with the basics, strong password and MFA everywhere. Avoided pirated Windows, and if you can avoid the OS entirely as well. Basic cybersecurity awareness need to be taught in schools. After 23andme, a lot of companies just have very shitty practices as well.
Re: Ask HN: My mother was scammed out of all her savings. What should I do?
#65I hate to be the one that says it, but there is only one way to handle scammers like this. They need to be hunted down and put down. All of them and anyone who is involved. Truth be told that scamming is becoming easier and easier. The problem is that most countries not only allow it, it is part of their GDP. Look at the number of scammers that originate in India. Everyone there knows who they are, there are numerous…
This really should be way this problem is approached. There have been people who have committed suicide because their private data was leaked. It's an altogether serious matter.
Re: Ask HN: My mother was scammed out of all her savings. What should I do?
#66The problem isn't technical, political or legal. Its an economic problem.
Re: Ask HN: My mother was scammed out of all her savings. What should I do?
#67> All my own savings are gone too. (My mother was scammed into borrowing a lot of money and sending it to the scammers, and now it is my responsibility.)
Sorry to hear of your misfortune, but I am wondering why you didn't spot the scam before lending money to feed it.
Re: Ask HN: My mother was scammed out of all her savings. What should I do?
#68I think this problem should be solved politically/legally first, technology can easily track money as you know. How are scammers able to operate bank accounts without leaving any traces, and why don’t the police and banks have the power to reverse transactions that are obviously fraudulent.
It's actually more complicated, but the draining of scam money at scale (ie: billions) is done with the help of collaboration of the Triads and Mexican cartels. IE: Chinese scammers rob the world of billions. They ultimately end up with tons of crypto but still need to launder it. They collaborate with the Mexican cartels to buy USD cash from them paid via crypto. Then the Triads re-launder that cash or sell it to ot…
The big banks also get a cut when they launder these funds. There are more profits to be made by enabling (or at least not stopping) scams then there is in preventing them. Market forces at work.
Re: Ask HN: My mother was scammed out of all her savings. What should I do?
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
You mean like today?
When’s the last time your horse got rustled?
I've had two cars stolen, and many people I know have had at least one stolen... so analogously it's still an issue... beyond this, there have literally been dozens of shootings in most major US cities alone every week. And even in those places with strict gun laws, there are regularly violent crimes with bladed weapons.
Re: Ask HN: My mother was scammed out of all her savings. What should I do?
#70This seems like such a simple problem to solve on the institutional level. Allow a person to have 3FA. Two phone numbers being required to log in - yours and trusted person. I would have that setup for my parents so that if they ever called me for the 2nd code, I could ask questions about why they need it. While I’m not too worried about my 83 year old mom, she is more tech savvy than most and has been using computer…
This is silly. If the person believed this was the bank the 3rd code would be used. Best answer is don't answer phone calls and force people to send letters.