A few days ago, a dear friend of mine was lured into parting with US$9,500. This is not something I would normally reveal; but the victim himself quite openly admitted it, in an admirable attempt to alert others to the dangers posed by these fraudsters.
These criminals, many of whom are based in India, are extremely well organised. They steal billions of dollars every year by preying on the unwary, using psychological techniques to fool regular people all over the world into parting with their money.
And the threat is on the rise, as more of these unscrupulous, soulless crooks are taking advantage of the inability of national crime prevention organisations to co-ordinate a response. Authorities in India, the UK, the US, Australia and elsewhere claim that it’s too difficult to identify such crimes, and pin down those who perpetrate them, because these actions cross international borders. (It’s yet another example of how national governments are failing to come to terms with how globalization has affected society; among other things, more effective regulation of banks, and other corporations that have grown too big for their boots, is clearly called for, in my view.)
Currently, the strongest line of defence is to ensure that we all educate ourselves about the risks. If you want to find out more — and I strongly suggest that you do — a superb starting point is Jim Browning’s YouTube channel, which I recommend wholeheartedly. I’ve included below one of Jim’s more serious offerings which demonstrates his activities. Jim’s videos are informative, educational and entertaining; they’re an excellent way to innoculate yourself against being taken for a ride — and perhaps losing your shirt.
After all that sobering stuff, here’s a change of pace:
Hard to admit but I was scammed out of $2000 USD many years ago.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ouch, sorry to hear that. The most I’ve been fooled into parting with§ — so far — is £100. That was many years ago, too.
§ If you exclude the great many legal scams that involve selling things that fail the day after the warranty expires, that is….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Colin, thanks for continuing the theme. I was speaking to my niece a little earlier on and she was scammed out of 400 GBP. I seem to have done some good in exposing the extent, the widespread extent, of this nasty crime. I am not going to hold my breath in waiting for an internationally coordinated response!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nor am I. I’ve been banging on about the need for a global government for years, but the average member of homo fatuus brutus has been indoctrinated from birth to believe that ‘you were born in the greatest nation on Earth!’, and that’s a meme that’s tough to defeat, no matter how wrong-headed it is.
LikeLike
Pretty sobering stuff. I have always believed that I am less vulnerable to these scams because I use a Mac, but I am sure I am not totally scam-proof. Thanks for sharing this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m pretty sure that a Mac is no protection against this. These… I hesitate to use the term ‘people’ as they don’t deserve that… these despicable scumbags have multiple prongs of attack. And their successes constantly egg them on to explore other avenues.
Take care out there!
LikeLike
I’ve been covering these quite a bit on my blog. They are getting to be a major problem. Cypercrime is starting to become one of the largest type of crime. My guess is that they are likely linked to organised crime (so called Mc Mafia’s) as there are signs of different gangs around the world working together. Sign of the times I suppose.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a great article, daryan12. Thanks for the link!
LikeLike
And this is why I do not accept any phone calls or emails or text messages from anyone who is not on my contact list! I cannot imagine that I would fall for any of their schemes, but you just never know, and frankly I don’t have time to waste on their b.s.!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I find it terribly ironic that a byproduct of the information technology revolution is to encourage us to withdraw from connecting with others, and distrust the communications we receive.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, it is ironic, but there are always going to be people out there who would rather live off of our hard-earned money than to earn their own. Sigh.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I had an unsolicited contact with someone in the US recently (recovery of a debt, which was real, just wasn’t sure if this was a phishing scam), and in order to verify it wasn’t a scam I ended up asking them over the phone about Baseball (who won the world series?) and American geography (which is the diamond state?).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good questions! I’ve lived here for my entire life and I couldn’t answer the first one!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is very sad for your friend but also humanity as a whole. As if we needed another reason not to trust others and withdraw from social interactions.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ok, but this is the best Arnold Video ever.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It had me in stitches :D
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love that one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s the old fashioned way of waiting for the final, final, it’s-the-baliffs-next-time demands in the post for getting any money out of me. I used to take a packed lunch to school because handing money over in the canteen traumatised me too much. So I haven’t fallen for a scam yet due to being too tight to spend any money anyway.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You sound like a sensible kind of chap. Hmm… do I know you? Your handle seems familiar, somehow….
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve met Bryn’s handle. I’ts very nice……..
LikeLiked by 1 person
The mind boggles! :)
LikeLike
Ditto…..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Yes, it IS possible to embed hyperlinks in titles! (but there are caveats) | Wibble