by Ken Springer
Scammed, Swindled, Conned and Fleeced ~ The Evil World of Fraudsters
I was shocked to hear that a dear friend of mine was recently conned out of her entire savings account, a sum of more than $50,000. My friend, we’ll call her Emma, is one of the kindest and most generous people I have been privileged to know. She is the kind of person who would give you the proverbial shirt off her back.
Emma overcame her initial embarrassment at falling for the con and told me how it happened. She was scrolling through Facebook when she found a message addressed to her, saying she had won a $25,000 prize from Publishers Clearing House and to click a link to receive her money. When she did as directed, she was immediately contacted by text from someone she believed to be, in her words, a “kind man.”
The text instructed Emma to use Cash App or PayPal to send $500 to cover the “processing fee” to get her prize money, which, unfortunately, she did. This was only the beginning of repeated requests for more money that continued for six months.
There seems to be something about the victims of these scams: they feel committed at some point, and rather than lose their initial investment, they keep sending money. As for the perpetrator, they heartlessly tell the victim that the prize money increases each time, and that if they want the money, the processing fee also goes up. In Emma’s case, the fake prize money went from $25,000 to $55,000 in $10,000 increments. After six months, Emma’s life savings were totally drained.
As if we Americans don’t have enough stress hearing daily about the unabashed graft and grift committed by our so-called leaders, we now must concern ourselves with those angling to steal our money – often with our own cooperation, no less. These fraudsters cast their nets for the most vulnerable among us, the elderly, the naive, the greedy, and even those searching for love and companionship.
This is not meant to imply that the person on the other end of the phone or email is evil; quite the contrary. That friendly voice may very well have a gun held to their head, literally, not figuratively. That is, the agents who actually contact the victims are trafficked from their home country to several countries, including, but not limited to, Jamaica, Nigeria and the Caribbean, on the promise of a great job with benefits.
They are, however, little more than enslaved people working at laptops and phones in warehouses for up to 20 hours a day. They do not get paid but generally get some food and a cot to sleep on. Trying to escape can get them killed on the spot. Clearly, there is organized crime behind these cons – follow the money, as they say.
“Nearly 500,000 people have reported this fraud to enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada over the last three years, and reported losses in 2017 alone totaled $117 million. The actual number of victims and losses is likely much larger,” says Steve Baker, Better Business Bureau *
So, who among us is the most likely to fall for a scam? First, we should look at the most vulnerable, the elderly. As an older person, I understand that aging often comes with some loss of memory and occasional confusion; however, it is also a time in life when dementia is more prevalent. Those suffering from this disease are far more vulnerable than the general population, and the fraudsters know this.
Other people more likely to fall for scams include risk takers, gamblers, and even those seeking romance. How many times have you heard about online romances where the scam is based on one party being seriously interested in meeting and the scammer, be it a man or a woman, promising to finally get together if only they could get a cash infusion first? Of course, the fraudster has no intention to meet the other party because it is a con job.
I personally know of a philandering man whose wife had cancer, who kept sending his imaginary lover money every month for over a year. When his savings was finally depleted and he couldn’t send any more money, the contact stopped. (In my opinion, this guy got what he deserved.)
We are exposed to scams nearly every day; they come at us by letter, phone calls, email, and text. The real bottom-feeders of the scam world are the pop-up ads we see on social media, making outrageous health claims – claims that should set off the alarm of your bull%#it detector.
I decided to investigate an ad that claimed it could cure Type 2 diabetes in just two days. When I clicked the link, knowing full well it was a scam, I had to listen to a ten-minute ad claiming their smoothie ingredients would reverse diabetes. Of course, you must buy their exclusive ingredients, which they don’t reveal. This is an especially egregious scam because it endangers the victim’s health if they discontinue medicines that really do manage their diabetes.
What about the dietary supplements? Are they fake? No, they’re not fake; they exist, but the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t test them because the FDA considers them food, not medicine. The Federal Trade Commission oversees dietary supplement marketing to prevent misleading health claims, but it doesn’t test the ingredients; the manufacturers do. Hmmmmm?
There are frequently cases where the victim of the scam commits suicide out of sheer embarrassment. The thing about the monsters who prey on others is that they are constantly finding new ways to entice people to send them money, and as long as there is the internet and phones, we will be targeted. Imagine what horrors are to come in the scamming business with global Artificial Intelligence?
If you suspect a family member or friend is being scammed, I urge you to discuss your concerns calmly and respectfully, without criticizing or blaming them. Tell them that these criminals are professionals who understand the psychology of humans and how they can be manipulated –think of Stockholm Syndrome.
If the scam victim is a family member, you may want to block the scammer’s contact information and save all evidence, such as texts or emails. You may also want to freeze bank and credit card accounts. Other strategies to further protect the victim include placing credit freezes with all three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Sometimes, tough love is called for, but with a soft touch.
Please keep in mind the age-old warning, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
*Steve Baker, former manager Federal Trade Commission, Chicago region, where he worked on consumer fraud matters for more than 30 years, now on BBB board of directors.
Ken Springer
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