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81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

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Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#51

Post by jmcqk6 »

andyjohnson0 wrote: post #38
new299 wrote: post #31

Here's what I did to stop various scammers calling, I talked to them endlessly. They seem to almost never hang up, they'll just keep going and going. So I was bored one day and decided to see how the scam played out: http://41j.com/blog/2015/08/phonecall-from-a-scammer/ They did call again, I picked them up on the fact that it was a scam and asked them how they justify their actions to themselves and ask questions ab…

I once kept a "Microsoft tech support" scammer [1] on the phone for over 30 minutes while I pretended to download and install some bit of malware he was trying to foist on me. When he finally realised what I was doing, I owned-up and politely asked why he was trying to rob me. He gave a loud scream of what sounded like pure frustration and hung up. I was laughing so hard I almost passed-out. [1] https://en.wikipedia.…

I was under the impression that many times, the "scammer" is not even aware that they are in a scam. They're a contractor following a script. But I just did a search and I can't find the article (maybe from wired) where they talked about that.

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#52

Post by andyjohnson0 »

jmcqk6 wrote: post #51
andyjohnson0 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I once kept a "Microsoft tech support" scammer [1] on the phone for over 30 minutes while I pretended to download and install some bit of malware he was trying to foist on me. When he finally realised what I was doing, I owned-up and politely asked why he was trying to rob me. He gave a loud scream of what sounded like pure frustration and hung up. I was laughing so hard I almost passed-out. [1] https://en.wikipedia.…

I was under the impression that many times, the "scammer" is not even aware that they are in a scam. They're a contractor following a script. But I just did a search and I can't find the article (maybe from wired) where they talked about that.

This one? http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-04/11/malwarebytes

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#53

Post by saint_fiasco »

goodJobWalrus wrote: post #25

Does anyone know what happens to the people when they get old, so they become gullible? Is there some physiological mechanism, or is it just that older people are less sophisticated about those issues?

It's hard to tell because the old people who are more sophisticated and know a lot about money are usually the kind of people who keep themselves mentally active in their old age.

That means they are both more sophisticated and physiologically more mentally healthy. It's hard to separate the two.

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#54

Post by Leszek »

arbitrage wrote: post #42
b3lvedere wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Wizard's First Rule: people are stupid." Richard and Kahlan frowned even more. "People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People's heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. Peop…

That's an offensively trite and simplified viewpoint on a very complicated and heartbreaking topic.

I made the mistake of reading this book once: the rest of it is similarly awful.

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#55

Post by saint_fiasco »

V-2 wrote: post #45

"The Jamaican lottery scam is a cruel, persistent and sophisticated scam that has victimized seniors throughout the nation" What's so sophisticated about it? Honest question. Seems like the oldest trick in the book, as primitive and crude as scams only get. One that couldn't possibly work against anyone but most senile people. It's a sad story, I'm just missing the "sophistication" element.

The sophisticated part is getting the phone numbers of old people to begin the scam and then laundering the money at the end.

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#56

Post by uptown »

Anybody have a solution for endless calls to a cell phone with a myriad of "google registry" or "small business whatever" scams? The calls started right around when I switched from being a Sprint customer to a Verizon pre-paid customer, but I can't definitively say Verizon sold my number. I ignore and block every call, but I receive anywhere from one to three calls a day.

Switching numbers isn't really an option I want to explore since I'm unconvinced it wouldn't just start on my new number if my carrier was the origin of the calls.

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#58

Post by Lawtonfogle »

arbitrage wrote: post #42
b3lvedere wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Wizard's First Rule: people are stupid." Richard and Kahlan frowned even more. "People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People's heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. Peop…

That's an offensively trite and simplified viewpoint on a very complicated and heartbreaking topic.

Very rarely do I ever see any popular culture handling of a complex topic that isn't.

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#59

Post by Lawtonfogle »

ksherlock wrote: post #11
forgetsusername wrote: post #5

>" targets nearly 300,000 Americans a year, most of them elderly, and has enticed them to send an estimated $300 million annually " In this case, the scammers took advantage of an elderly man, inflicted with Alzheimer's and diminishing mental capacity. Sad. But that can't be the case for the majority. How on earth do "normal" people fall for this? I can see, maybe , when the internet was young and this was new. But i…

Why do people fall for the "work for a startup and get rich" scam?

Or the 'try to play the markets and get rich' scam?

I've seen many elderly individuals playing the markets with far too little knowledge of how they work, thinking they can win.

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#60

Post by celticninja »

andyjohnson0 wrote: post #46
wiradikusuma wrote: post #39

In Indonesia, a particular scam is calling people (esp. parents) very early in the morning, when people are still sleeping, "We're cops. Your son/daughter is arrested for drugs possession. Send us lots of money NOW or we'll send him/her to jail." followed by what sounds like someone crying in the background. Since you're barely awake, and your son/daughter is indeed away (eg. on night shift or staying with friends),…

" how do they know the relationship of the victims" Probably they don't. If the victim says "but I don't have a son" they just hang-up. Scattershot approach, not targeted.

or start with "your child has been arrested" when they say "what Mary Lou?" you respond with "yes we have your daughter".
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